
Class T^ C 8 1 
Book C?^ 

Copyright^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



HS 



■ 



■ 

■ 



*rC 






THE PEOPLE'S 

MEDICAL INSTRUCTOR 



WRITTEN ESPECIALLY 

FOR THE HOME AND FAMILY 

A VALUABLE REFERENCE BOOK FOR PHYSICIANS, NURSES, DRUG- 
GISTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND PROFESSIONAL WORKERS. 

JOSEPH aMSoNWELL, M.D. 

PHYSICIAN AND DRUGGIST 

AUTHOR OF 
"MEDICAL THERAPY" AND "MANHOOD'S MORNING" 



A SYSTEMATIC AND COMPREHENSIVE TREATISE ON 

THE PREVENTION AND CURE OF DISEASES AND COMMON AILMENTS 
AND THE VALUE AND USE OF MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 
EMBRACING A VARIETY OF FORMULAS FOR TOILET, MED- 
ICINAL AND HOUSEHOLD PURPOSES, RECEIPTS FOR 
DISINFECTANTS, ANTISEPTICS, HYGIENIC 
MEASURES, &C., &C. 

FOURTH REVISED EDITION 

SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION 



THE HOMINIS BOOK COMPANY 

VINELAND, N. J. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1915, by 

JOSEPH A. CONWELL 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington 



PRACTICAL MEDICAL THERAPY 
Copyrighted 1892 







6S* 

FEB 17 1915 

©CI.A393661 



HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 



Do not lock it up or hide it. Let it lie on the centre table. It 
contains no objectionable pictures or language. It can be read 
by everybody, including the children. 

Read it for general information regarding sickness and health. 
Much of its teachings is how to keep well and avoid sickness. 
Many persons have read it through and found it not only instruc- 
tive but interesting. 

Read it instead of patent medicine advertisements, almanacs 
and quack doctor books. It advertises no secret medicine, advo- 
cates no ism or medical hobby. 

Eead part first to gain an intelligent idea of what medical treat- 
ment is, what its scope and limitations are. Fakes and frauds 
have flourished long enough. A new era is needed in the treat- 
ment of disease. 

Read part second to gain a correct idea of the cause, preven- 
tion and cure of over 250 diseases and common ailments. Learn 
how best to cure common ailments and to intelligently co-operate 
with the physicians in treating serious diseases. 

Read part third and fourth to find out what over 350 remedies 
are good for; how and when to use them. When they prove 
curative and when they are injurious. What remedies are suited 
and what ones are unfit for home use. 

Do not aim at being a doctor nor "half doctor" by reading the 
book. The book is intended to correct false teachings that are 
widespread, impart safe and sane information and get people to 
use the best thing at the proper time in the most effectual way. 

Consult the Index at the end of the book to find what you want. 
It is very complete and contains over 1300 references. 

v 



PREFACE TO FOURTH REVISED 
EDITION. 



When this volume was first published it received from phy- 
sicians, druggists, medical journals and the press generally almost 
unanimous endorsement. Perhaps no medicine book for popular 
distribution was ever so universally commended. 

To meet the demands of the rapid progress made in medical 
knowledge the book has been thoroughly revised and much new 
material added. As in the first instance, the author has aimed to 
send forth a systematic, up-to-date book filled with the kind of in- 
formation that can be used with safety and benefit in the average 
family. The clean and ethical features of the first edition have 
also been maintained. There is, we believe, not a single morbid 
sentence in the book. Its tone is encouraging and no one will 
be made sick by reading it. The morbid and gruesome medical 
book has been greatly overdone, and is always a public nuisance. 
The present volume was written for a purpose and it has a mis- 
sion. That mission is to help people avoid sickness and to help 
them do the wise and correct thing when ill health and disease 
prevails in the home. 

Since writing the first edition the author has added several 
years of active experience in compounding and dispensing medi- 
cines and remedies and coming in daily contact with the needs 
and desires of all kinds of people. These have been years of 
advancement in the prevention and cure of disease such as the 
world has never before witnessed. The practice of medicine has 
become more specialized and intensive. The changes have been 



many, and an evolution in the use of drugs is constantly taking 
place. The fact remains that never before was a correct knowl- 
edge of the prevention and cure of disease among the people so 
essential and imperative as now. No fact is more apparent than 
that the greatest progress and the surest success in medical prac- 
tice are made when physicians receive the intelligent co-operation 
of a well-informed patronage. 
February, 1915. J. A. C. 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



No greater blessing can come to the people, unless it be exemp- 
tion from disease altogether, than correct, unbiased information 
in regard to medical treatment ; and nothing could be of more 
benefit to honorable, educated physicians, than for the people 
to become well enough informed to intelligently discriminate 
between valuable and useless medical measures. 

The great need, as far as medical treatment of the sick is 
concerned, is a more intelligent and mutual co-operation between 
physicians and those to whom they minister. No one would feel 
safe in voyaging upon a ship in which the crew were entirely 
ignorant of sea-craft and navigation, and where the pilot came on 
deck only for a few minutes each day ; yet much sickness is man- 
aged in exactly this manner. As a rule, the physician visits his 
patient for only a few moments each day, and during the remain- 
ing time the treatment is often in the hands of those entirely 
ignorant of the case and its requirements. In the management 
of chronic diseases, and most minor ailments, the physician is 
generally seen so seldom that the treatment is practically in the 
hands of the patient himself, or those most interested. 

We wish to make it distinctly clear, however, that this volume 
is not intended to take the place of the regular, educated physi- 



PREFACE. IX 

cian. It is not a miscalled "Family Physician," a "Household 
Doctor," or a "Family Medical Adviser." These must be persons — 
must embody life, render personal services, and dictate treat- 
ment, and not simply reflect knowledge from the printed page. 
They must exist as men and women, and not in the form of 
books. 

Medical knowledge should be more general than it is. " Genu- 
ine science has no secrets ; whatever it wins, it is ready to apply 
for the benefit of all." 

What is thus true of science generally, is especially true of 
medical science. The health, the happiness, and the life of man 
are here concerned. " His religious hopes excepted, what is there 
that has a more direct claim on his time, his mind, his money ? 
Yet the ignorance of the people concerning the most simple facts 
regarding medicine is appalling ; and too many of those who have 
undertaken to enlighten mankind on these subjects have failed 
through the use of technical terms, an array of big words, and the 
writing of big books." 

In the compilation of the present work, I have endeavored to 
know but one thing — that which is of practical importance to the 
people, and to express it in the plainest of language. The author 
has had no secret nostrum to advertise, no theory to champion, 
no hobby to ride ; and at all times he has endeavored to set forth 
practical measures and established facts, and to avoid those things 
which are impracticable and void of merit. 

No effort has been spared to make the book practical. Through- 
out the volume are hundreds of just such facts and suggestions 
as I have, in response to inquiries, explained to my patrons, day 
in and day out, for years. 

The subjects treated in Part I are of vital importance. While 
they are such as are seldom discussed, it has appeared to the 
author that they are very appropriate and opportune, and he 
hopes that they will be received in the same spirit in which they 
were penned. They embrace features of modern medicine, of 
which the masses are extremely ignorant ; and we feel assured 
that a perusal of these chapters will prove more interesting, 
instructive, and helpful than would be the case if the hackneyed 



subjects, usually found introductory to books of this kind, had 
been inserted. 

Hygiene and bodily health, and the Laws relating to them, 
have become subjects of general interest; and our public schools 
are making their study a feature of popular education. In many 
States the children, by legal enactments, are obliged to acquaint 
themselves with a knowledge of those drugs which act delete- 
riously upon the human system, and no statutes are fraught with 
promise of greater good. It is to be hoped that these things are 
only the beginning of a system of education destined to rescue 
mankind from the thraldom of evil habits, physical impairments, 
and bodily disease. 

Much is to be accomplished by teaching the people the nature, 
cause, prevention and cure of diseases. How many lives might 
annually be saved if the people were thoroughly informed con- 
cerning typhoid fever? Ignorance concerning the nature of 
scarlet fever has sent thousands of victims to an early grave. 

It is as essential that the people be taught to know and respect 
the laws concerning heredity, as those referring to political econ- 
omy. It is as important to know how to preserve good health 
and prevent and cure disease, as it is to master some craft whereby 
to secure food, clothing, and shelter. 

An intelligent, aggressive warfare against disease would almost 
completely drive it from the face of the earth ; yet through igno- 
rance, the people are suffering pain, and prematurely dying on 
every side. The prevention and cure of disease should be 
regarded as the most important branch of economic or social 
science. Every day lost through sickness, and every life cut 
short, are losses to society at large. Disease and physical imper- 
fections prevail to such an extent that we are apt to look upon 
them as an unavoidable inheritance. We blindly associate 
them with the fall of Adam, and fail to recognize them as 
penalties for our own transgressions : we accept the ravages of 
disease, and premature death, as Providential dispensations, and 
forget that, in many instances, they are due to our own carelessness 
and criminal ignorance. 

In writing this book, the author has kept in mind the needs of 



PKEFACE. XI 

the family. Nearly all medical books heretofore published have 
introduced such subjects, and contained such language or illustra- 
tions, as to require them to be kept under lock and key. The 
subjects alluded to create morbid feelings in most people, and 
benefit no one. This volume is free from objections of this kind. 
Those subjects and diseases which common custom has proscribed 
from popular discussion, have been omitted, and the author feels 
confident that he has yielded to a wholesome demand in avoiding 
them. The present volume may occupy a place on the centre 
table, and its contents may be read and studied by all, both 
young and old. Much of the prevailing ignorance concerning 
medical matters is due, no doubt, to the fact that the books treating 
of these subjects have either been unfit for general reference, or they 
have, advocated some pet hobby, or incorporated some advertising 
scheme of the authors', and have in no sense represented legiti- 
mate and scientific medical practice. 

The author has freely consulted the scientific and standard 
medical text-books of the day, and while the present volume 
conforms to their teachings, we have used such language only as 
every one can understand. Uncommon words and Latin terms are, 
in every instance, accompanied by well-understood synonyms or 
explanatory paragraphs, thus avoiding the necessity of a glossary. 

The index at the end of the volume is very complete, and no 
difficulty will be found in finding any subject or item in the 
body of the book by first consulting the index. 

J. A. C. 



CONTENTS 



A complete INDEX is at the end of the hook, in which every item of import-. 

ance in the volume is alphabetically recorded, and by referring to it, any subject 

can be found in a moment. 

PART I. page. 

Facts about Medicine, 17 — 98 

Introductory — Pathies or Schools of Medicine — Choosing a Family Phy- 
sician — Specialists — Worthy Medical Practice — Unworthy Medical 
Practice— Patent and Secret Medicines— Medical Frauds— Quack 
Doctors — Taking Too Much Medicine — Unnecessary Medicine — 
Imaginary Diseases — Popular Errors. 

PART II. 

Diseases and Other Ailments, 99—410 

Their Nature, Cause, Symptoms, Prevention, and Cure, embracing many 

Conditions of the Human Body not Classified as Diseases, yet 

which call for Medical Consideration. 

PART III. 

Medicines and Other Remedies, , 411—580 

A Materia Medica and Therapeutics. Being a Practical Setting Forth of 
The Nature and Value of the Medicines and Medicinal Articles in 
General Use, including Their Application in the Treatment of Dis- 
ease, and the Abuses to Which They Have Been Subjected in Pop- 
ular and General Practice. 

PART IV. 

Medicines and Remedial Compounds, 581—641 

Receipts and Formulas Classified and Systematically Arranged — Practical 
Suggestions for Treating the Sick— Disinfectants — Antiseptics — 
Deodorizers — Poisons and their Antidotes — The Destruction of 
bisects — Receipts for Toilet Requisites and Household Articles — 
Hygiene — Food — Clothing — Ventilation — Baths. 

INDEX, 643 



BOOKS ON SPECIAL SUBJECTS 

Books treating of Health, Hygiene, Sanitation, Diet, Nursing, 
Parenthood, Infancy, Sex, Eugenics and similar subjects were 
never so numerous as now. Such knowledge is vital to every 
home. The following are selected from a long list of reliable books, 
all of them instructive and useful. They will be sent anywhere 
by the publishers upon receipt of price. 

Rural Hygiene. By H. X. Ogden. $1.50. 
The Macmillan Co., New York. 
A comprehensive and valuable treatise. 

1001 Tests of Food and Beverages. Harvey W. Wiley, M.D. 

Hearst's International Library Co., New York. $1.50. 
A practical exponent of Pure Food and Sound Health. 

The Caee and Feeding of Children. By L. Emmett Holt, M.D. 

D. Appleton & Co., New York. 82c. 

"It has saved thousands of lives." 
Mother and Child. By Edward P. Davis, M.D. $1.50. 

J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia. 

An ably written book for mothers. 

The Home Nurse. By E. B. Lowry, M.D. $1.00. 
Chicago Medical Book Co., Chicago. 
A book for Home Instruction. 

A Hand-Book of Nuesing. Conn. School for Nurses. $1.25. 

J. B. Lippincott & Co.. Philadelphia. 

For the Household and Trained Nurse. 
Four Epochs of a Woman's Life. By Anna M. Galbraith, M.D. 

The W. B. Sanders Co., Philadelphia. $1.50. 

Covers all phases of Woman's Nature. Excellent. 
Social Dieection, Human Evolution. W. E. Kellicott, Ph.D. 

D. Appleton & Co., New York. $1.50. 

The Science of Eugenics in Race Betterment. 
Home Nurse's Hand Book. Charlotte A. Aikens. $1.50. 

W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia. 

Home nursing of the sick and care of baby, 
xiv 



PART I. 
FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 



THE SUBJECT 



CONSIDERED FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT. 

MUTUAL RELATIONS AND INTERESTS. 



MODERN CHANGES IN MEDICAL PRACTICE— PATHIES AND SYSTEMS 

OF MEDICINE— PHYSICIANS— PROGRESS OF MEDICINE— FRAUDS 

AND QUACKS-PATENT AND SECRET MEDICINES— THE 

REAL AND THE IMAGINARY IN MEDICINE— THINGS 

THE PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW— HOW TO SAVE 

MONEY AND GAIN HEALTH IN THE USE 

OF MEDICINES— POPULAR ERRORS. 



PART I. 
FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

THE CLAIMS OF MEDICINE- MODERN CHANGES IN MEDICAL PRACTICE— IGNOR- 
ANCE OF THE PEOPLE— THE ART MORE DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND— THE 
SCOPE OF MEDICINE — PATHIES AND THEORIES— REGULAR AND IRREGULAR 
PRACTITIONERS — EXTENT OF THE MEDICINE BUSINESS— POPULAR INTELLI- 
GENCE ON THE SUBJECT A DUTY. 

So long as people get sick and suffer pain and physical 
deformity, they will be interested in the subject of medicine and 
its administration in the treatment of disease. 

Physical Training, Dietetics, Hygiene, and the various 
methods and appliances which modern genius and research have 
introduced for the prevention and cure of human ailments, are 
all given a welcome recognition ; but none of these things, nor all 
of them combined, will render the use of medicine unnecessary, 
until they make disease impossible. 

The efforts of the sick to obtain relief by the aid of medicine 
are instinctive and natural. In Holy Writ and history the neces- 
sity of resorting to medicine in some form, for the cure of disease, 
has always been recognized. Among nearly all nations the cure 
of disease is regarded as next in importance to the care for food, 
clothing, and shelter. Even among our North American Indians 
the " Medicine Man " usually stands higher in influence than the 
acknowledged chiefs of the tribe. 

The Science of Medicine has undergone great changes, both 
in principles and practice, during the generation just past. The 
relations formerly existing between the medical profession and 
2 17 



18 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

the people were very different years ago from what they are now. 
The gap between the doctor and his patients, as far as a knowledge 
of medicine is concerned, is a wider one. The physician no 
longer weighs and mixes his medicines in the sick-room ; he no 
longer bleeds, administers emetics and purges ; he has abandoned 
those measures which by their prominence and distinctive char- 
acteristics leave a definite imprint upon the mind. In former 
times, the tortures inflicted by the doctor, in his heroic efforts to 
cure, lingered in the mind long after all memory of the disease itself 
had fled. In those days the people knew exactly what was being 
done by the physician, and in no small degree grasped an idea of 
the methods and principles which formed the basis of his practice. 

The Lancet, the Emetic, the Calomel and Jalap, have 
passed into history. At least half of the physicians who are 
practicing at the present day never bled a patient, administered 
an emetic, or prescribed a drastic cathartic as mixed in former 
days. The strange part of it is that the people do not know what 
has taken the place of those old standard remedies and modes of 
treatment. IVhat is used in place of the lancet? What takes the 
place of the emetic? What renders salivation unnecessary? The 
people cannot answer these questions, and it is difficult to 
enlighten their minds on the subject. The practice of medicine 
has become an exclusive art ; its details have become complex, 
and the knowledge necessary to guide the modern practitioner is 
technical and scientific, and not easily explained or readily com- 
prehended. These changes have been accompanied by a remark- 
able multiplication and growth of various pathies, systems, theories, 
and methods of treatment, all of which are being industriously 
pressed into popular favor by ingenious and enthusiastic champions. 

To complicate matters, the country has become flooded with 
patent medicines ; and men with special hobbies have posed as 
healers of disease, until the field of medicine, to the ordinar}' 
mind, is a realm of confusion and bewilderment. The popular 
medical literature of the day is confined almost entirely to news- 
paper advertisements, circulars, pamphlets, and books that have 
been written and circulated to popularize and secure patronage 
for some secret nostrum or some pretentious quack. 



INTRODUCTORY. 19 

The Scope, or Domain op Medicine, in its broadest sense, 
includes everything which has for its object either the prevention, 
palliation, or cure of disease, no matter what theory it involves, 
what doctrines it adheres to, what system it follows, or what 
methods it employs. Viewed in a more rational light, true medi- 
cal science embraces all that is good in all pathies, faiths, cures, 
theories, and systems, and in drugs, agents, and measures which 
they employ. The remedy may act on the system at large, 
locally upon the disease, or upon the mind. It may remove the 
disease by some specific action, some chemical antagonism, or by 
changing the physiological conditions upon which the existence 
of disease depends. 

Good medical practice may also embrace a change of surround- 
ings, environments, and habits, together with the use of all those 
influences which act favorably upon the mind, imagination, and 
belief, and those which tend to develop and inspire the powers 
of that higher nature which every human intelligence is supposed 
to possess. 

Medical theories are almost without number, and yet, while 
they more or less blend with each other, separate and ingeniously 
wrought distinctions are kept up by those who make hobbies of 
them, and who, in order to gain a following, strive with indomit- 
able zeal to bias and prejudice the minds of those who are willing 
to listen. 

A Regular Practitioner of Medicine is one who has pur- 
sued a full, recognized course of study, passed a successful 
examination at some legitimate College of Medicine, and who 
adheres to no pathy or creed. Such a physician is supposed to 
endorse and make use of everything which has proved itself of 
value in relieving suffering or curing disease. 

An Irregular Practitioner of Medicine is one who has 
never pursued a prescribed course of study, who has never 
been examined and graduated; or one who has received a 
diploma from a college where some special theory only is 
taught, such as the water cure (Hydropathy), the cure by 
electricity (Electropathy), etc. He is one who, for the sake of 
creed, denies himself the privilege of consulting the broad 



20 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

domain of liberal and universal truth in his efforts to battle 
with disease. 

To meet the demands of all the systems, principles, theories, 
and methods of medical practice, we find enlisted a vast army of 
regular and irregular practitioners, who appeal for patronage to 
the vast army of sick and afflicted. The former class includes 
about sixty thousand of the more regular physicians of the several 
systems, and thirty-four thousand druggists; to which must be 
added charlatans, quacks, frauds, and medical itinerants without 
number. There are about fifteen thousand patent and proprietary 
medicines on the market, and a large number of various measures 
and medicaments which it is impossible to briefly classify, but 
which do a thriving business, chiefly through the mails. 

The amount annually spent for medicine and medical treat- 
ment in the United States may be fairly estimated at two hundred 
million dollars. The traffic in drugs and medicines forms an 
important item in American commerce, and the revenue from 
advertising patent medicines is one of the chief supports of the 
public newspaper and periodical. 

For the ordinary observer to undertake to grasp the subject 
intelligently, and to render a rational judgment upon the relative 
virtues of conflicting theories, opinions, and boldly pressed 
hobbies, is a task both difficult and bewildering. When we 
realize that teachers in medical schools, medical practitioners, 
manufacturers, compounders, and dispensers of medicines, and 
those who pose as healers of the sick, are directly responsible for 
what is being done to battle with disease, and that to them the 
people anxiously look for help, it becomes a matter of great 
concern to know what they really accomplish in their efforts to 
relieve physical suffering and heal diseases. It becomes a duty 
to intelligently inquire what methods are employed, what reme- 
dies are used, and, if possible, to decide what pathy, theory, system, 
or measure is best calculated to attain the end in view. 

If all theories are practicable, effectual, and correct, it becomes 
us to inquire which is the best. If all are imperfect, and fraught 
with error and false ideas, it is important that we should decide 
which is the least objectionable. If there is only one correct 



PATHIES OR SCHOOLS OP MEDICINE. 21 

system in which to place our confidence, or only one theory 
founded upon correct and rational laws, it is our plain duty to 
single it out, and, no matter what pathy or theory it may be, to 
familiarize ourselves with its principles, consistently adhere to its 
teachings, and, when overtaken by disease, avail ourselves of its 
virtues, with an implicit and abiding faith in the agencies it 
employs. 



PATHIES OR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE. 

(SYSTEMS OF MEDICINE— THEIR MULTIPLICATION— GAINING POPULAR FAVOR — 
CONVICTIONS VS. OPINIONS— SOME GOOD IN ALL — HOMEOPATHY — ECLEC- 
TICISM — ELECTRICITY— " CURES " — NO NEED OF PATHIES — THE PEOPLE 
MUST INVITE A REFORM— PATHIES TO BE DISCOUNTENANCED— THE FUTURE 
OF MEDICINE. 

Some time ago I stood on a street corner in a large western 
city and read the signs of thirty-nine doctors in the windows 
of a building on the opposite side of the street. Most of these 
signs made known the name of the "pathy" designating the 
theory or plan of treatment followed. 

There were almost as many pathies, or modes of treatment, 
represented as individual names. It is natural to presume that 
all these doctors were educated, honest, scientific men, and that 
each one was following his own chosen plan or method of 
treatment because he considered it more potent, and superior to 
all others. It may be inferred, however, that they, individually, 
had no settled convictions in regard to the matter, but were 
amply practicing on different lines of treatment, in response to 
what seemed to them a popular demand. The latter supposition 
is probably the correct one. 

Up to the time of Hahnemann, while men differed in their 
opinions and plans of treatment, there was no real breach of 
the medical faith. The apostle of " Similia similibus curantw" 
however, found it necessary, in order to distinguish between his 
own theory and the previously existing system, to give each a 
name 



22 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

He promulgated his theory under the name of Homeopathy, 
and applied to the existing system the term " Allopathy." The 
regular profession of medicine, however, has never accepted the 
latter title, and perhaps never will. No such epithet is necessary. 

Since the advent of Homeopathy, prompted, no doubt, by its 
success, other theories have been evolved, and have isolated 
themselves, until we have a great number of pathies, or plans 
of treatment, all endeavoring to gain popular recognition and 
endorsement. 

We have the Homeopathic, Eclectic, Hydropathic, Electro- 
pathic, Polypathic, Mental Science, and various other systems, 
all having a considerable following, and each of them possessing 
some characteristic features of excellence. 

It is for the people to decide whether every new idea in regard 
to the treatment of disease shall, in turn, be accepted as worthy 
of popular favor and patronage or not. So long as new theories 
and pet hobbies can gain attention, secure patronage, and obtain 
financial support from the people, they will continue to exist, 
multiply, and press their claims upon the public. 

There is an impression abroad in the land that charlatanism, 
quackery, and deception will succeed just as well as, or better 
than, rational, honest effort; and that the people are led as 
completely by strange and fanciful doctrines and hobbies, as 
by measures that bear the imprint of mature judgment and 
intelligent common sense. That there are well-grounded reasons 
for this impression cannot be denied. 

One of the boldest medical charlatans I ever met, under 
the cloak of "A new and wonderful theory on the treatment of 
disease," located himself in a certain town some years ago. 
The people paid him over one hundred dollars per week for 
several weeks, receiving in return absolutely nothing — not even 
so much as a drink of cold water — while in the same town was a 
young physician, bright, intelligent, and well educated, who had 
spent four years in mastering his profession. The latter was an 
ornament to society, and he rendered the best possible service to 
those who employed him ; and yet the people failed to increase 
his coffers to the extent of six dollars per week for a whole year. 



PATHIES OR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE. 23 

What is true of itinerant medicine men, charlatans, and false 
teachers generally, is true of medical schools, pathies, isms, 
theories, and systems. Inventive genius and money-loving 
ambition will allow no strange notions or anxious longings 
of the sick and suffering to remain unsatisfied. While the 
people are directly responsible for the inception and growth 
of all these different medical isms and pathies, they are, at the 
same time, unable to correctly discriminate between the worthy 
and the unworthy, the useful and the injurious, the good and 
the bad. The various isms are all tacitly accepted as worthy 
and valuable additions to a liberal science. No matter how 
crude or ridiculous the theory, or what means are employed to 
attract public attention, if the educated and respectable portion 
of the medical profession venture an objection or criticism their 
motives will be misunderstood, and all antagonism from this 
source is at once transformed into advertising capital. Those 
who champion medical hobbies invite opposition in order to gain 
notoriety and to secure an opportunity to pose as professional 
martyrs, and thereby secure sympathy and support. 

It is proper and right, and, more than this, it is the plain 
duty of all, to acquaint themselves with this subject, and intelli- 
gently decide wherein exists the true and rational theory and 
practice of medicine. 

Does the "old school" system, in its present scope, embody 
all that is desirable? Is the theory of Homeopathy adapted 
to, and worthy of, universal favor ? Is Eclecticism worthy of a 
dominant position in medical practice? Is the "Faith Cure" 
to heal the world ? Or are we to explore further, and discover, 
amidst the hidden recesses of truth, the magic influence that 
will banish sickness and suffering ? 

That the conflict kept up by opposing factions and creeds in 
medicine has kept in the background much valuable truth, and 
denied the people much of practical value, cannot be denied. 
The clear sunlight of reason seldom shines where strong personal 
considerations enter into the war of medical factions. The extra- 
vagant pretensions necessary to success convey to the ordinary 
mind but little conception of real facts ; and a consistent outline 



24 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

of the various platforms of medical belief is seldom presented to 
the reading public. 

An estimable friend has taken occasion to counsel the writer in 
regard to the general tone of this particular chapter. He advises 
me to treat this subject very superficially, and say nothing against 
any school of medicine, any theory, pathy, or doctrine. He sug- 
gests that a book for popular distribution should cater to the 
whims of all, for there is no medical ism, be it ever so ridiculous 
or absurd, but what has its followers ; and that if I accommodate 
my book to the diversified fancies of the public it will redound 
to my personal advantage. Indeed, it would not be difficult to 
persuade me into the belief that policy would dictate that no 
infringement be made of any one's opinions. My friend was 
honest and sincere, and his advice contained all the force of 
business policy ; yet a strong conviction of what I adhere to as 
scientific and rational truth will not allow me to vacillate amid 
conflicting opinions and error. 

There are no principles more important to the human race 
than those which constitute the foundation of medical training 
and practice ; and no one has a right to rest his belief upon 
popular notions or current opinions in relation to this subject. 
Great and important questions demand convictions, not opinions 
merely. The habit of acquiescing with floating impressions and 
of peddling promiscuously conceived ideas is always on the side 
of danger ; the good influences of not only religion and politics, 
but of medicine as well, have been greatly lessened by the 
unwarranted confidence of the popular mind. 

What the people want is not theoretical ideas, but intelligent, 
settled convictions ; not to think what is merely good policy, but 
to know the truth ; not to depend upon hasty and superficial 
observations, but upon demonstrated facts ; not to be led by the 
extravagant assertions of some enthusiastic hobby rider, but by 
the counsels of mature and settled judgment. 

The time is ripe for a candid and honest service from the 
medical fraternity. For a full century variances and prejudices 
have marred the history and crippled the usefulness of medicine. 
The sick and suffering deserve and are entitled to the very best 



PATHIES OK SCHOOLS OP MEDICINE. 25 

medical treatment the world affords. That kind of knowledge 
and training most condncive to the best possible curative results 
should flow as freely as water throughout the land, and to the 
uttermost ends of the earth, without being hindered or distorted 
by narrow or prejudiced minds. It is a grave injustice to lead 
the people away from the broad and liberal truths of medicine 
with any narrow theory, pathy, hobby, or secret nostrum. 

When the people ask for bread they do not want a stone. The 
sick and suffering ask for health, and they desire it by the nearest 
and best route. It is their privilege and duty to demand it. 

What have the various exclusive pathies and narrow medical 
theories to offer to recommend them to an interested and exacting 
public ? The writer does not believe in any one of them as an 
exclusive doctrine. At the best they are all circumscribed by 
contracted teachings, well-worn ruts, and traditional practices, 
which long since should have become obsolete. Yet it must be 
admitted that a great deal of useful knowledge and some valuable 
discoveries have been contributed by those who, for a season at 
least, labored and experimented in isolated and theoretical fields. 

Homeopathy, for example, has exercised a wonderful and 
salutary influence upon medical practice. When it raised its 
banners, a century or more ago, the pendulum of practice had 
swung to the extreme limit of large doses of powerful drugs. Its 
advent found the sick vomiting under the influence of emetics, 
bleeding to exhaustion from the use of the lancet, and the teeth 
falling out from the effect of heroic doses of calomel. 

Rational measures had been long forsaken, and common 
instinct gave Homeopathy, with its small doses and tasteless 
remedies, a welcome ; and at the expense of medical folly it 
gained a foothold, and for a whole century it has existed and 
grown. While the old school has denounced it, and Homeopathy 
in return has denounced the old school, it has greatly influenced 
and modified the administration of drugs. The heroic treatment 
of former times has given place to milder methods, and none are 
more willing to acknowledge the value of the reform than those 
of the old school who have accepted it and profited by it. 

The formerly prevailing system has already met Homeopathy 



26 



FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 



more than half way, and I am inclined to believe that a happy 
and more reasonable system of beneficent medical practice is close 
at hand. Homeopathy has also undergone a great change. It 
has so outgrown small doses, simples, and "like cures like," that 
there now exists much less reason for an antagonistic attitude 
between the two systems than many people believe. 

Some days ago, in response to two postal cards, the postman 
handed me two price lists and formula catalogues in the same 
mail, one from a well-known firm of homeopathic pharmacists, 
and the other from the establishment of a large New York firm, 
manufacturers of" allopathic" medicines. Strange as it may appear, 
these two houses are manufacturing medicated tablets of the same 
composition and in the same doses. The following are selected 
from a list of more than a hundred combinations, all of which 
are exactly alike. The amount given represents quantity of 
medicine in each tablet. 



HOMEOPATHIC. 



OLD SCHOOL." 



fQuiniasulph., . 
Acid, arsen., 
Strycbn. sulph., 

f Morphia sulph., 
\ Atropia sulph. , 



(Opium pulv., 
Tartar emetic, 
Calomel, . . 



1 gr. 
so gr- 
sV gr- 

\ gr. 

T3<jgr. 

\ gr- 

tV gr- 
\ gr- 



(Quinia sulph., , 
Acid, arsen., , 
Strychn. sulph. 

/ Morphia sulph., 
\ Atropia sulph., 



{Opium pulv., 
Tartar emetic, 
Calomel, . . 



. 1 gr. 

• -h gr- 

. & gr- 

. i gr. 



I gr. 
tV gr- 
I gr- 



Because a remedy occurs in small pellets or tablets is no reason 
why it may not possess great power; indeed, the full dose of 
many alkaloids and active principles is exceedingly minute. 
"While many of the so-called medicated pellets are entirely free 
from poisonous qualities, it is never safe to use them other than 
strictly according to directions. 

The stress which homeopathic practitioners have laid upon 
diet, clothing, habits, and other sanitary measures has had a most 
beneficial effect. It must be admitted, however, that experience 
has failed to establish a basis for " Similia similibus curantw" or 
" Like cures like," and that the infinitesimal dilutions and attenu- 
ations, especially of inert substances, are intrinsically, absolutely, 



PATHIES OR SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE. 27 

and positively worthless. We are quite sure that its prac- 
titioners have long transgressed the theoretical laws laid down by 
its founder, and while they adhere to it in name, yet in practice 
they exercise a liberal independence. 

Eclecticism has exerted a wholesome influence over the use of 
drugs, and during its aggressive days it added much to the store 
of useful knowledge. Many of the drugs discovered and intro- 
duced by this school have found an honored and useful place in 
the vocabulary of medicine, and many of its teachings have 
been accepted as tenets of faith worthy of universal sanction. 
By confining their practice almost exclusively to the use of vege- 
table substances, and by denouncing the careless use of minerals, 
especially preparations of mercury, eclectics have created a popular 
prejudice against the use of powerful drugs, the effect of which 
has been to curtail the medical use of mineral substances to a 
minimum. The reckless use of calomel was at one time doing 
great injury, and the influences against such a pernicious practice 
were strongly supported by the disciples of the Eclectic school. 
Yet Eclecticism offers no special features of its own to call forth 
the favor of universal sanction. Its mission, like that of other 
exclusive doctrines, has been more to correct existing errors and 
abuses, than to serve as the foundation for broad principles of 
medical practice. 

Hydropathy is a good thing. We all believe in water, and 
think it should be used liberally, both internally and externally, 
hot and cold, fresh and salt ; but it is a mistake to suppose it can 
be made to supplant the entire materia medica. Electricity is a 
wonderful restorative agent, and every physician should familiar- 
ize himself with its proper use and employ it in his practice 
where needed. I heartily endorse those specialists who have 
made a study of this form of medical treatment, and who, in 
their practice, are honest enough to limit its use to those cases 
only which may be benefited by it. But when a man starts out 
to practice the system of Electro-therapy, armed with no weapon 
except a battery, and offers to cure any and all diseases by its 
use, his course should never be approved. Electricity is a 
dangerous instrument in the hands of an ignorant pretender. 



28 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

Massage, Thermo-therapy, the Movement Cure, the Rest Cure, 
the Exanthematic Cure, the Grape Cure, the Milk Cure, and the 
Faith Cure are all valuable as incidental methods of treatment, 
and each is applicable to a limited range of therapeutic utility. 
Some of them require very special study and equipments. The 
great tendency, however, is for those who practice these special 
methods to employ them far beyond the scope of their usefulness. 
They at most can be useful only so long as they are auxiliary to 
a liberal and comprehensive system of practice. 

The people should have access to all that is good in all medical 
creeds and modes of treatment without encountering conflicting 
prejudices or opposing interests. What we need is a new order 
of things within the realm of medical practice. Those who have 
enlisted in the profession should aspire to a position worthy the 
honor and importance of the calling of their choice. The good 
and great should dominate, and rise above narrow isms, pathies, 
and dogmas, and get out of traditional ruts. 

The people should no longer be satisfied with a slice of medical 
truth, but should demand the entire loaf. Theories should exist 
only as channels to carry crystallized knowledge and experience 
into the great storehouse of truth ; and every pathy should be 
offered as a sacrifice at the shrine of a system of medicine em- 
bracing all that is good. Every element in nature, every achieve- 
ment of the chemist, every discovery of the investigator, and 
every device of genius should become a part of a true and 
rational plan which all physicians will be glad to study, profess, 
adopt, and practice. 

The people must invite a reform and prepare the way for a 
new order of things. I am sure that the great body of medical 
practitioners of all schools are tired of exclusive doctrines. 
Modern research and experience have caused the science of curing 
disease to entirely outgrow the narrow limits of any creed, and 
their existence is not in harmony with the progress of a liberal 
and conservative age. 

The people are not getting that which they are entitled to ; 
they are deserving of better things ; and it will be the advent of 
a new and more wholesome era in medical practice when they 



CHOOSING A FAMILY PHYSICIAN. 29 

demand that those into whose hands they entrust their lives, and 
the lives of those they love, shall be liberal enough, when called 
to the bedside of the sick, to ask themselves the question : What 
is the best treatment known to the world for a case like the one before 
me ? and to answer the question by doing the correct thing with- 
out regard to creed or custom. It is the people's privilege to 
abandon all theorists, one-idea hobbyists, and narrow-minded 
men, and demand the services of practitioners of medicine in its 
broadest and best sense. 



CHOOSING A FAMILY PHYSICIAN. 

FAMILY DUTIES — THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN— HIS RELATIONS— HIS ADVANTAGES 
OVEE OTHEES — OUTGROWTH OF MUTUAL RELATIONS— WE ARE WALKING 
ADVERTISEMENTS OF OUR PHYSICIANS — CHANGING DOCTORS — BUSINESS 
POLICY— A BIG PRACTICE— OLD AND YOUNG PHYSICIANS— SOME CAUTIONS. 

To appreciate the beautiful in nature or the intrinsic in art 
requires the best efforts of trained judgment; and the same law 
applies in choosing a family physician. To render the best pos- 
sible service, a physician must rank high in the scale of intelli- 
gence, artistic skill, and in the finer qualities of manly character. 
In making a wise choice from among those willing to render their 
services, it is necessary for us to be able to discriminate between 
essential and desirable qualities on the one hand, and non-essen- 
tials on the other. 

No one has a moral right to use any drug or employ any 
medical adviser unless, in doing so, he exercises a confidence that 
will bear the sanction of candid, intelligent reflection. We should 
be able to tell why we have faith in a medicine before we swallow 
it, and be possessed of thoughtful reasons why we have confidence 
in a physician before we seek his services. If we stop short of 
this we neglect an imperative duty, and our negligence is fraught 
with dangers, unfortunately too little regarded. 

A city or community may be abundantly supplied with physi- 



80 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

cians possessing all desirable knowledge and qualities, and the 
people, by failing to appreciate the characteristic features of 
medical practice, lose the benefit of their skill. 

Every family should have its recognized physician ; the mem- 
bers of the household should know, and the doctor should know, 
that, so far as the health of the family is concerned, their interests 
are mutual and thoroughly understood. A husband and wife, 
aside from choosing each other and selecting the place they are 
to call their home, have no choice of greater importance to make 
than that of selecting their family physician. 

The family physician is, in many respects, more closely related 
to the family than any other person. He crosses the threshold 
with unusual privileges; he becomes cognizant of personal priva- 
cies, and to him are made known those things which are sacredly 
withheld from others. Other people halt at the fireside, and, 
restricted by social courtesies, enjoy our hospitalities; but the 
physician, by the province of his mission, advances beyond all 
these. In full possession of our confidence and faith, he is told 
what diseases we have had, what frailties our ancestors were sub- 
ject to, and what class of diseases are apt to affect us most. He 
becomes acquainted with our physical infirmities, our peculiarities, 
idiosyncrasies, and predispositions. He steps upon sacred and 
what is to all others forbidden ground. He bears forth knowledge 
which he has no right to intimate or whisper to his nearest 
associates. 

If the practice of medicine is a noble profession, demanding 
the utmost devotion to it, those who aim at its highest attainments 
should certainly enjoy a degree of public confidence not bestowed 
upon those who are less worthy. Those who honestly endeavor 
to be guided by the highest principles, and who cheerfully submit 
to the most exacting and arduous requirements of medical prac- 
tice, deserve to be recognized as better prepared to combat disease, 
and more deserving of confidence and patronage, than those who 
lazily perform the routine duties of professional life, and who 
shrink from the cares and anxieties which a faithful service 
demands. 

Skill and success in medical practice do not depend so much 



CHOOSING A FAMILY PHYSICIAN. 81 

upon meeting emergencies as upon collecting and connecting 
observations and shaping the treatment accordingly. " Observa- 
tion," says one, "is the sheet anchor of medical practice." 
" Experience is the cardinal guide in all the activities of life ; " 
and what is observation but the deductions of experience ? Again, 
how can a plrysician secure experience and observation in a 
family unless he is given all the opportunities which an indi- 
vidual service renders? The history of the family health, the 
peculiar physical traits, predispositions, and inherited tendencies 
are the things with which the physician must deal in treating 
diseases. If these things were uniform in all individuals, we 
presume that disease would affect all alike, and there would be 
but one treatment for each complaint. But individual and family 
peculiarities cause all manner of diversities, and a knowledge of 
these things greatly fortifies the doctor. As a rule, physicians 
do not lose many patients because they do not understand the 
diseases they are called upon to treat, but they very often fail to 
benefit because they do not understand the individual peculiari- 
ties of the patients. 

Could we successfully urge the head of every household to 
always have some one who is recognized by each member thereof 
as Our Family Physician, one of the most important missions 
of this volume would be accomplished. Every family should 
have a thorough understanding with some reliable, capable 
medical practitioner in regard to this matter. A physician can 
be of infinitely more benefit to a family if he knows his services 
are to be permanent. The sooner the people realize this fact 
the sooner will scientific medicine become a greater blessing than 
it has been in the past. The preaching of the Gospel cannot be 
of much help to those who pass from one church or creed to 
another, much less can medicine help those who are constantly 
changing from one doctor to another. Permanent and well 
understood relations are the strongest mediums through which 
to impart a beneficial and lasting influence. 

When a physician becomes fully convinced that he is the estab- 
lished medical adviser of the family, he at once feels that upon 
his shoulders has been laid a responsibility calling for his best 



32 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

trained efforts. It at once becomes an interesting duty to respond 
to all calls, night or day. He can take the liberty to give expres- 
sion to his honest convictions in regard to all matters upon which 
he is consulted. If medicines are needed, he prescribes them ; 
if they are not needed, he candidly advises against their use. 
He ceases to feel the need of being a business man, with its 
business policies, in such a family, and he feels encouraged to 
impart the full benefit of his professional knowledge and experi- 
ence. 

Every member of the family becomes a living advertisement 
of the ability and good judgment of the family physician. Good 
health, few ailments, and rapid and complete recoveries following 
the practice of a physician, are recommendations to which the 
most modest doctor is glad to refer, while continued invalidism, 
crooked bones, unnecessary scars, chronic complaints, or other 
physical defects remaining after professional skill has been em- 
ployed, are things that every ambitious physician diligently 
endeavors to prevent. 

" Who is your family physician ? " " What doctor is attending 
Mr. So and So ? " " What doctor did they employ ? " are questions 
constantly being asked, and their answers carry with them a 
weight far too little appreciated. They contribute largely toward 
the success or failure of every practicing physician. 

Many people do not confine their patronage to a physician, 
because they imagine that it is less expensive to resort to patent 
medicines when sick, in which case they escape the fees for pro- 
fessional advice. Such a course shows lack of judgment. When 
we consider the mistakes in diagnosis so liable to be made, the 
doubtful character of secret nostrums, and the ultimate failure so 
common in using them, it becomes an obvious fact that, in the 
long run, to employ a regular doctor is not only the wisest, but 
the cheapest plan possible. 

Others believe that by patronizing first one doctor, and then 
another, it will cause some rivalry between them, that will result 
in concessions of terms. Such motives are dishonest, and cannot 
be too strongly condemned. A matter of policy often influences 
others. In this age, when diversified business interests weave 



CHOOSING A FAMILY PHYSICIAN. 33 

themselves into every calling, policy often demands that we 
extend our patronage promiscuously, to foster reciprocal influ- 
ences ; but such a plan should never be adopted in the employ- 
ment of medical aid. 

There are those who employ a physician to treat a case of sick- 
ness as they would a tramp to chop a pile of wood. They are so 
afraid that he will run up a big bill, that they interpose and 
endeavor to regulate his visits, and take the liberty to tell him 
when to discontinue them. A physician always knows, far 
better than any one can inform him, when his services are 
no longer needed, and such matters should always be left to 
his judgment. 

If we are to judge from experience and observation, many 
people have an abiding faith in drugs — for they are always 
taking them ; but they entertain a very shabby opinion of doctors. 
We do not know why this is so, but we believe it is largely due 
to ignorance of the real value of medical learning and skill. 
Unfortunately, success does not stand out in a tangible shape, so 
as to be recognized. One doctor may save hundreds of lives in a 
lifetime and another may fail completely, yet the world fails to 
see the difference between them. Success in practice can never 
be fully appreciated by the people. Naturally, the best physicians 
will be called in to treat the worst cases, and the less skillful to 
treat the less difficult ones ; and it often happens that the most 
skillful physician fills out the most death certificates. I can 
recall several instances in which I know that medical skill saved 
life ; but I am sure that scarcely a single layman who reads this 
book can positively name such a case, because he has not the 
same means of knowing that a physician has ; on the other hand, 
there are instances, occasionally, in which the lack of medical 
skill has resulted in — well, the laity is ignorant of the other side 
also. 

Most people presume that if a physician enjoys a large practice 
he must necessarily be very skillful. Nothing can be more 
misleading. While a large practice is favored by skill, yet other 
things than simply skill and medical lore are essential to a large 
practice. The practice of medicine is both a profession and a 

3 



34 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

business, and upon ability in the latter, as well as in the former, 
success depends. Business tact, pleasant manners, personal mag- 
netism, social advantages, and enthusiastic push often overcome 
the obstacles to success. All things considered, the doctor who 
aims at the quality rather than the quantity of the work he does 
is to be preferred. He who has a medium practice is to be 
selected, rather than one who has not enough to keep him 
interested, or who is so extremely busy that he has no time to 
keep his medical studies up to the always advancing require- 
ments of his profession. 

Popularity cannot always be accepted as a correct measure of a 
physician's ability. There are all kinds of levers used to lift men 
into popular favor. Imitations generally dazzle the eye more 
than pure gold. It is easy to veneer ignorance with sham pre- 
tensions. Artificial wisdom and assumed dignity often take with 
the people, better than the modesty of less obtrusive but more 
genuine worth. 

It is not necessary or essential that a physician should be an 
old man. It cannot be denied that experience is a valuable guide 
in diagnosis ; at the same time, an intelligent, clear-headed young 
man, just out of college, where the masters of the art teach and 
practice, can claim some advantages also. If the physicians who 
have been long in the field were to go back to college and take a 
post-graduate course — which all physicians should do every ten 
years — the practice of most of them would undergo a revolution. 
"The doctor who gives much medicine and many medicines, 
who is continually changing them, and who does not insist upon 
knowing all about your habits, as to diet, meal times, sleep, modes 
of work, and hours of recreation, is, on the whole, one to be 
avoided. The family doctor is, most of all, apt to fail as to these 
details, especially if he be an overworked victim of routine, and 
have not that habitual vigilance of duty which should be an 
essential part of his worth. He is supposed to have some myste- 
rious knowledge of your constitution, and yet may not have asked 
you a medical question in months or years. Too much is taken 
for granted, and unreliable opinions are the outcome of careless- 
ness. Every new case in a household should be dealt with as if 



SPECIALISTS. 35 

it were a stranger's, and outside familiarity should not be allowed 
to breed contempt of caution in study or lead to half measures." 

The family physician should be a man in whom all can place 
full confidence and an unwavering faith. It is a great misfortune 
to lose faith in a physician at a critical time, or to find it necessary 
to change the treatment when life hangs by a single thread. 

The only safe course is to begin with the right kind of medical 
adviser — one who can be implicitly trusted, no matter how des- 
perately disease battles for the lives of those in whom we are 
interested ; and instead of becoming uneasy and dissatisfied when 
critical illness arises, we can feel assured that the correct thing is 
being done, and that our efforts to co-operate all tend to produce 
the best possible results. 



SPECIALISTS. 

THEIR USEFULNESS— COLLEGES ENCOURAGE SPECIALISTS— THE FUTURE OF MEDI- 
CINE—SURGERY—DENTISTRY—OCULISTS—NOSE, THROAT, AND SKIN DISEASES' 
—QUACK SPECIALISTS. 

A specialist in medicine, in the true sense, is a physician who 
makes a special study of some disease or class of diseases, and 
devotes his time and energies to their treatment, to the exclusion 
of what is commonly called a general practice. 

The practice of medicine and surgery, especially in large towns 
and cities, is fast dividing itself into special departments. This 
is a legitimate and desirable movement, because it is impossible 
for any one person to become thoroughly proficient in all branches 
of medical knowledge. 

Our medical colleges are recognizing the practicability of special 
lines of study and practice, and specialists are being called upon 
to teach those branches to which they have devoted years of 
research, and about which they are necessarily well informed. A 
thorough mastery of the knowledge of any disease or class of 
diseases requires special study and training, and a consequent 



36 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

neglect of other important branches of medical knowledge. Hence 
we have physicians whose practice is confined to one organ or 
one class of diseases, as of the eye, ear, throat, nose, lungs, skin, 
nerves, etc. 

While this division of medical practice has met with consider- 
able opposition, it is, nevertheless, in the line of genuine scientific 
advancement, and it receives the approval of the best minds in 
the profession. To administer the right medicine and do the 
right thing at the right time is the aim in ideal medical practice ; 
but the literature of the age is so voluminous, and the entire 
domain of medical research is so comprehensive, that it is impos- 
sible for one mind to grasp more than a general idea of the 
whole. 

A general practitioner can seldom do more than follow the 
general plans of treatment set forth in the various standard medi- 
cal text-books, and it is not safe for him to venture any important 
conclusions in opposition to them, from his own limited range of 
observation. It requires an extended and varied experience to 
test the real virtues of any medicine. A fair test can scarcely be 
determined within the scope of any ordinary medical practice. 
In accomplishing a cure, a medicine must run a race with nature, 
which naturally travels toward health ; and it requires not one 
trial merely, nor a score of trials, but hundreds of cases of the 
same general character, under various conditions and circum- 
stances, to secure a correct knowledge of any remedy. The few 
cases of any one disease which come under the observation of any 
physician in general practice are entirely too limited to admit of 
any definite conclusion regarding any form of treatment. The 
above statements have been well proven by the way in which 
calomel, bleeding, and many other supposed remedies have 
secured and maintained, for a long time, almost universal popu- 
larity with the medical profession ; and, although some of their 
ill effects took place immediately und-r the eye of the physicians, 
their ultimate tendencies for evil long escaped observation. Many 
medicines have enjoyed high repute, only to be found useless or 
harmful in the end, and finally w be banished from practice or 
confined to very narrow limits. The lancet, calomel, tartar 



SPECIALISTS. 37 

emetic, and alcoholic stimulants were for a long time considered 
indispensable in the practice of medicine, but they have in great 
part given place to other and safer remedies. 

Special study and practice in particular branches have a ten- 
dency to detect and exclude worthless remedies and to improve 
upon efficient methods of treatment. The specialist is destined 
to carry medicine beyond the realm of experiment, and establish 
a basis upon which demonstrated principles, and not contending 
theories, shall rest. The future of medicine will, no doubt, be a 
history of special study, research, and practice. That will be the 
Age of Specialists. Men who in their own particular departments 
of medicine and surgery are striving to lay the foundation of a 
better system of medicine, and are devoting themselves to a single 
disease or class of diseases, are on the right track, and may be 
expected to become the future safeguards of the profession. Sur- 
gery is the most important branch of special practice, and relates 
to that branch of the healing art devoted to the cure of external 
diseases, especially where manual treatment is required. 

The dentist is the most isolated specialist connected with the 
science and art of medicine. The treatment of the e} r e has become 
almost as exclusive as dentistry, and in almost every large town 
or city oculists can be found, who are equipped with apparatus 
essential in diagnosing the various malformations, imperfections, 
and diseases of this important organ. The nose, throat, and skin 
are also becoming subjects of special study, and all along the line 
of the art of curing we find those who, by choice, force of require- 
ments, or natural selection, make a study of special departments 
of medical knowledge. 

Warning should, however, be given against a horde of charla- 
tans, who style themselves physicians, and who, with flaming 
advertisements, infest our large cities or go from place to place, 
professing to be specially qualified to treat certain diseases. Most 
of these men treat those diseases most easily remedied, such as 
nerve, pulmonary, stomach, and liver troubles. They avoid all 
branches requiring artistic and intelligent skill, and select only 
those lines where deception can be practiced, and, if possible, 
where temporary relief is easily imagined. The same rules which 



38 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

condemn quacks and imposters generally will apply to the itin- 
erant specialist. The one-idea hobbyist is to be avoided, and, 
above all, the man who makes a specialty of secret diseases. I 
do not believe there is an honest, capable physician in America 
who advertises himself as a specialist of the last-named class. 
They are all, unquestionably, vile, deliberate imposters. The 
newspapers and mails flood the country with their vulgar trash. 
Their liberty is a public curse. 



WORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 

THE EFFOET TO DO GOOD UNIVERSAL— RESPONSIBILITIES— NOBILITY OF MEDICAL 
PRACTICE— ATTITUDE OF WRITERS — POPULAR APPRECIATION— ACHIEVE- 
MENTS OF MEDICINE— ITS PROGRESS AND INFLUENCE — DOMINION OVER PAIN 
— THE PEOPLE'S DUTY — WORTHY DOCTORS — CO-OPERATING WITH PHYSICIANS 
— POWER OF CONFIDENCE— PROFESSIONAL AMBITION — DOCTORS' BILLS— EX- 
PENSES OF PHYSICIANS — CHEAP FLATTERY— MUTUAL LOYALTY— DISMISSING 
PHYSICIANS — SHOWING APPRECIATION. 

God made man in His own image, and the completed handi- 
work still continues to be the noblest work of creation. This 
language applies both to man's wonderful physical structure and 
to his intellectual and moral endowments. Man has within him 
an appreciation and love of truth and goodness, placed there by 
his Creator ; and great and noble efforts and sacrifices to bless and 
elevate his fellow-men will always receive his approval, admira- 
tion, and gratitude. 

The various activities of civilized life call for an almost innum- 
erable variety of occupations, some high and some of low degree, 
but all of them equally honorable if they meet a want in the 
onward march of progress to man's higher destiny. Therefore 
every honorable vocation has its duties and responsibilities, 
and all, worthily followed, mingle together their results for the 
promotion of human happiness. 

The divine arrangement of human activities has, however, 
crowded into some vocations peculiar duties and kinds of service. 



WORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 6V 

Great responsibilities, with corresponding usefulness, attend upon 
many positions in life, but none are fraught with greater respon- 
sibilities, or are more essential to human happiness, than that of 
the physician. No conceptions excite greater reverence in the 
human heart, and no figure of speech more beautifully expresses 
the impulses of infinite mercy, love, and pity, than reference to 
the Great Physician. 

The attitude of many writers toward the medical profession 
has been one of misrepresentation, disrespect, and ridicule, and 
their influence has often been to bias and prejudice the minds of 
the people. Many persons are strongly imbued with the idea 
that physicians, and the medicines they prescribe, are curses, and 
not blessings, to the community. Although such persons usually 
employ medical aid when sick, they are so prejudiced against the 
means employed that they fail to receive from it the benefit that 
should accrue to them. 

Such views, however, will not stand the test of candid investi- 
gation. The good influence of medicine upon the welfare and 
happiness of mankind is as easily demonstrated as that of sun- 
shine or rain upon the verdure of nature. The achievements of 
medicine have been wonderful in the past, and the present is 
crowded with hopeful effort. For the past quarter of a century 
this profession has been making greater advances, by profound 
study, careful and persistent research, and close observation, than 
any other calling. Physicians have been sacrificing more of 
personal comfort, burning more midnight oil, and availing them- 
selves of more advantages from the discoveries and inventions of 
the age, than all other professions combined. 

Medical discoveries have driven some diseases almost out of 
existence, and they hold many others in close subjection. Small- 
pox, once a terrible scourge, is now almost unknown ; malaria no 
longer steps with mortal tread, as every physician can readily 
modify its force. 

Dominion over the agony and torture of pain is, perhaps, the 
most brilliant achievement wrought by man. By the aid of 
anaesthetics, surgery, dentistry, and mechanical medicine have 
become almost painless arts, in consequence of which their scope 



40 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

of usefulness has been greatly increased. By the use of anaes- 
thetics the surgeon's knife has been transformed from an imple- 
ment of terror into one of mercy. One of the most serious, and 
what otherwise would have been unbearable, operations the 
author ever witnessed was shortly followed by a laugh from the 
patient, which completely convulsed five hundred students, 
although a few minutes before they had been breathless with 
intense interest, while the subject was sleeping. Memories of 
numberless surgical operations, performed during the past twenty- 
five years, exist in the minds of those subjected to them as vivid 
and pleasant dreamy recollections. 

Recent researches with the microscope have demonstrated 
beyond a doubt that many diseases owe their origin to the pres- 
ence of microbes or micro-organisms, and remedies calculated to 
destroy them are being discovered, and it can reasonably be 
expected that scientific medicine will soon easily control many 
diseases which have heretofore been quite incurable. Antiseptics 
have already rendered surgical operations almost entirely free 
from many of the serious complications formerly following 
them. 

It may be truthfully said that the people have never appreciated 
the medical profession to its merited extent. An honest effort 
has been made in the accompanying chapters of this work to 
present to our readers some useful and important lessons in regard 
to the broad domain of medicine, but there are lessons from a 
somewhat different standpoint, for the people to learn. They are 
lessons in regard to the people's duty and what they can do to 
enhance the usefulness of the medical art. 

We assume that most of those who read this book have been 
wise enough, if sickness has entered the home, to choose a family 
physician, and that he, when called upon, faithfully performs his 
duties, so that the criticisms we have made are applicable only 
to a very limited number of isolated cases. 

It is gratifying to know that throughout our land, practically 
within easy reach of all, are physicians of all the reliable medical 
schools who are eminently qualified to minister to the sick — 
men with keen intellects and noble ambitions, and who are 



WORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 41 

thoroughly trained in the high calling to which they have dedi- 
cated their lives and energies. 

The co-operative relations of doctor and patient are interesting 
and potent influences for good. The patronage, confidence, and 
friendly good will of an intelligent family, aside from any pecu- 
niary considerations, are cherished and important factors of a 
physician's success. On the other hand, when a physician pos- 
sesses the implicit confidence, abiding faith, and loyal co-operation 
of a household, these things become powerful agencies in curing 
the sick. The inspiring power of an absolute confidence will 
often act like a miracle where unaided medicine will fail without 
such co-operation. I do not endorse faith as worthy of forming 
the basis of an isolated doctrine in curing disease ; but I do most 
emphatically press the assertion that faith — implicit faith — in the 
family physician is a paramount necessity in the treatment of 
many ailments. Physicians are not machines, and those who 
look upon them as simply mechanical manipulators deprive 
themselves of their best influences. The doctor who has not 
caught the spirit of a more magnetic influence than routine 
drudgery imparts has erred in selecting his calling. Faith in a 
physician, in the medicines he prescribes and the suggestions he 
gives, is as essential to his success in curing disease as is love to 
keep harmonious and sweet the conjugal relations. 

Endeavor to touch the pride and professional ambition of the 
doctor. It is well to remember that every physician aims at an 
honorable goal, and that those people who appreciate his success 
and are always glad to see him rise in his professional career 
will be sure to receive the full benefit of his most thoughtful 
attention. Let your attitude toward him be such that he will 
throw his life, heart, and soul into his work. The difference 
between a careless, unlucky physician, and one who is zealous 
and successful, is often the difference of the relations only between 
doctor and patients. If the American people would, when sick, 
throw aside all prejudices and bad faith, discard all nostrums 
and quackery, and place themselves unreservedly in the hands 
of the medical profession, they would at once, more than ever 
before, begin to improve in health ; and if they should continue 



42 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

a faithful co-operation, many minor ailments which now torment 
both body and mind would almost entirely disappear, much 
sickness would be prevented, and the suffering attending unavoid- 
able diseases would be reduced to a minimum. 

The people should pay their doctors' bills promptly. Doctors 
do better work for less money, and more work for no money at 
all, than any other class of men. " Terms Cash " and " C. 0. D." 
have found their way into all lines of trade, and an adherence to 
these business principles has been the inspiriting influence behind 
most of the successes in life. But that calling, the most worthy 
and self-sacrificing of all, can resort to no such regulations, but 
must depend upon the honesty and appreciation of the people. 
There are millions of dollars due the physicians of this country 
to-day, for valuable services, and most of them need their money. 
The fact that much of it will never be paid is a sad reflection 
upon the honor and gratitude of the people. 

The necessary expenses of a physician are far beyond that 
which most people imagine. In no profession are " running 
expenses" so great. Medical books are high-priced, new ones 
are constantly being printed, and every progressive physician 
should procure most of those pertaining to his profession. Sur- 
gical instruments, and other necessary medical appliances, are 
very costly. It is nothing unusual for the value of a physician's 
outfit to amount to thousands of dollars. The expenses connected 
with horses and carriages are considerable ; and " appearances " 
essential to popular favor augment the cost of living beyond that 
of most vocations. The cost of medicines is many times greater 
than people think. The skill and labor bestowed upon the 
elegant preparations used in modern pharmacy give to medicines 
a money value far in excess of the crude decoctions in vogue 
years ago. Prompt payment of their bills gives physicians an 
opportunity to better equip themselves for efficient service, and 
a wholesome remuneration always adds relish to the requirements 
of labor. Don't be on the secondary list of a physician, but strive 
to rank as one of his best and most prized patrons. 

People should be careful regarding the honor and standing of 
their medical advisers. A doctor may be a moral paragon, yet 



WORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 43 

his name may be damaged by idle gossip. The people to whom 
a physician ministers are living advertisements, not only of his 
professional skill, but largely of his character and standing. As 
his patients and friends make known their estimate, so will the 
public measure his attainments. The public expect in a physi- 
cian the embodiment of refined intelligence and exemplary 
citizenship, and those who employ him should carefully guard 
against a cheap estimate of his usefulness. Those who are a 
doctor's most enthusiastic admirers often have a very unfortunate 
way of expressing their esteem. Religiously avoid being consid- 
ered a public enthusiast of some doctor's skill. If a lady thinks 
her medical adviser is the " nicest doctor in town " and that he is 
"just elegant," she should carefully guard against expressing it. 
If he is a manly, intelligent, and skillful physician we should, 
by all means, be ready to say so, but we should not endanger his 
good reputation by sentimental and silly compliments. Many 
physicians have had their reputation marred, their success en- 
dangered, and their moral standing impaired by unguarded 
remarks from thoughtless, admiring women. Some time ago 
the writer, while strolling through a cemetery with a company, 
stopped in front of a monument that marked the resting-place of 
a noble and useful physician. While reading the inscription to 
the departed dead, one of the company, with thoughtless and 
heartless indifference, uttered a slander upon his memory. And 
this was done notwithstanding the fact that the one who made 
the remarks had reasons to regard with grateful memory the dust 
that slept beneath. 

Be loyal to the family physician, and never dismiss him for 
another without exceptionally good reasons. There is nothing 
that so depreciates the claims of a family to attentive service as 
the habit of calling in first one physician and then another. It 
is to be remembered that fraternal relations and mutual interests 
encourage the most potent influences, and that these and other 
contributing forces of success in medical practice seldom linger 
when the ties between doctor and patient are loosely held. 

People should show their appreciation of their family physician 
more than they do. His pride should be kept alive, his ambition 



44 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

encouraged, and his life made joyous by visible tokens of esteem. 
It is too often the case that a doctor, after spending sleepless 
nights and anxious days in helping some stricken patient over a 
low ebb of life, when recovery takes place is allowed to sit down 
and reflect over one solitary ray of satisfaction, and that not 
coming from those benefited by his efforts, but from heaven — the 
satisfaction of having done his duty. To simply pay a physician 
what he charges is not enough ; the higher qualities of his nature 
demand recognition. His vocation is one demanding the keen, 
bright faculties of a healthy, courageous mind, and the more the 
people recognize and cultivate these qualities, the better service 
will he render. 

The poor are often among the most cherished patrons of a 
physician's practice. Those who have but little or no money 
often, by expressions of genuine gratitude, make glad a doctor's 
heart. The author can vividly recall to mind one hot summer 
afternoon, some years ago, when, with two other physicians, he 
stood by the bedside of a poor woman who had an accidental 
affliction which, unless speedily relieved, would end her life. For 
two long hours we anxiously strove to relieve her condition. The 
heat was intense, and it was part of my duty to wipe the sweat 
from the chief operator's face, as great drops would chase each 
other down his brow and cloud his vision as he was trying to tie 
an artery here and avoid cutting another there. When the work 
was done there was a conscious satisfaction that a life had been 
saved, and that a wife and mother would be spared to those she 
loved and for whom she had lived. There was never anything 
of dollars and cents in the circumstance to consider, but when 
recovery was complete, and the husband, on Saturday evenings, 
would come up the street with a bouquet of flowers in each hand 
that had been plucked and arranged by a grateful woman, and 
would leave one with my family and pass on up the street to the 
other physician's residence with the other, I felt fully paid for the 
services I had rendered. The little tribute of thankful regard 
showed a worthy principle in the heart of the sender, and the 
token laid on my table was to me more delicious than the choicest 
flower that ever smiled in the sunshine or kissed the zephyrs with 
its fragrance. 



UNWORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 45 



UNWORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 

RAPID INCREASE OF DOCTORS— GOOD AND BAD— UNWORTHY AIMS— A NOBLE 
CALLING— INTEMPERANCE— ATTENTION TO THE PROFESSION— KNOWLEDGE 
AND INTELLIGENCE— ARTIFICIAL WISDOM— IMMORALITY— ALL KINDS OF 
DOCTORS— MENTAL LAZINESS— DISBELIEVERS — TATTLERS — NARROW-MIND- 
EDNESS AND BIGOTRY. 

The various medical colleges of our country are sending forth 
from two to four thousand graduates annually, each one bearing a 
diploma legally qualifying the holder to practice the arts of medi- 
cine and surgery. Already there is one physician to every six 
hundred inhabitants, and the proportion seems to be constantly 
on the increase. So plentiful have physicians become that they 
cannot all hope to be successful in the calling of their choice. 

Among this vast army of workers are all classes of men. 
Noble men, and women, too, whose motives are high and worthy, 
work side by side with those whose motives are unworthy. The 
sheep and the goats are held together by ethical ties ; born of 
fraternal relations, they both find their way into the broad, liberal 
domain of medical practice, the one seeking a field of labor 
and usefulness, with high aims and noble ambitions, the other 
seeking a place of refuge where a professional cloak will cover 
moral nakedness, and an honorable title bring with it respect- 
ability and social standing. 

The man who enters upon the study and practice of medicine 
with no higher ambition than merely to gain a livelihood, is 
just as unworthy as he who enters the ranks of the ministry 
without the proper qualifications. To be a successful physician, 
in its highest and best sense, requires qualities of manner and 
intellect not attainable by every one. No other calling requires 
such devotion, study, skill, and sacrifice of personal comfort. The 
demands of no other profession are so exacting as those which 
environ the physician ; and when he lacks the essential elements 
of his calling no one can measure the suffering involved. In the 
presence of the unworthy and unskilled physician sickness still 



46 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

maintains the mastery, suffering continues unchecked, and death 
ensues where it might otherwise be averted. 

Every physician should be a moral man. The sacred rela- 
tions which exist between him and those to whom he ministers 
call loudly against the rowdy, the intemperate, or licentious 
adviser. 

It is a matter of common observation that a great many people 
do not consider intemperance any barrier to the highest attain- 
ments of skill in medicine 

A few days after the writer graduated in medicine, a gentleman 
who had amassed a fortune by a careful, shrewd business life, 
said to me : " Go home and take to hard drink for six months or 
a year, and then reform, and the people will look upon you as a 
medical oracle, and you will soon climb to the top of the ladder 
in your profession." He complimented me as possessing every- 
thing necessary to success except a reputation, and a course of 
intemperance was the shortest route he knew of to gain that. 
Nearly a century ago Dr. Benjamin Rush was called to see a 
gentleman whose regular physician, an habitual drunkard, had 
just died. Dr. Rush's prescription was reluctantly accepted. The 
patient, referring to his former medical adviser, declared that 
he " would rather be prescribed for by him when drunk than by 
any other physician in the city when sober." Some years ago 
the writer knew an intelligent farmer to remain in a certain town 
nearly an entire day, waiting for a physician to sober up, as, to 
use his own words, " he was smarter than lightning when sober ; " 
yet this very physician was one of the most ignorant of practi- 
tioners. There always has been, and is now, a widespread 
impression that a doctor who gets drunk is extra skillful if you 
can only " catch him sober." His intemperance seems to serve 
as a sombre background, making his skill appear more prominent 
by contrast. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is 
a mark of increasing public discrimination that those to whom 
the above language refers are constantly growing less. It matters 
not who he is, what his advantages, intellectual capacity, or 
acquirements may be, the man who uses alcoholic liquors to 
excess is unfit to practice medicine ; he is unworthy of confidence, 



UNWORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 47 

and it approaches criminal negligence to employ a doctor so 
addicted. Drunkenness is in no sense compatible with the prac- 
tice of medicine, and the sooner everybody is aware of it the 
better it will be for the sick. A physician is disqualified to enter 
the sick-room in exact proportion to the amount of liquor he 
swallows, and the indulgence does not reach far before his use- 
fulness is utterly destroyed. A physician who drinks is more 
apt to yield to his weakness when his services are most needed, 
than at any other time. The pressure of responsibility and the 
discomfort arising from critical conditions of his patients, are 
inducements to drink which the intemperate physician can 
seldom withstand. 

A physician should devote his entire energies to his profession. 
A lawyer may go into politics or other occupations and remain a 
good attorney; a clergyman may become interested in matters 
foreign to his church and continue an acceptable preacher ; but 
the physician who becomes engrossed in issues foreign to his 
business which absorb his time and energy, does so at a sacrifice 
of his professional usefulness. 

A physician should be an intelligent and educated man. 
Because a doctor can hang up in his office a diploma from a 
medical college, it is not conclusive proof that he is competent to 
diagnose disease and prescribe for its relief. A young man may 
get through college and yet be ignorant — awfully ignorant — of 
the very rudiments of the science and art of medicine. He may 
attend the required number of years, pay his tuition, and all the 
time depend more upon acting wisely and looking wise than in 
being so. The author recalls the case of one young man who 
acknowledged at the time that he scarcely answered a question 
during his examination at college, yet by looking wise and 
" playing the fright" he secured the favorable vote of the faculty. 
At the time he was asked by a fellow-student to give the common 
name for sulphate of magnesia, and he could not do it. After 
being told that it was Epsom salts, he could not tell the dose. 
This young man was an exceptional case, and the examinations 
are more strict now than formerly ; but too many men are sent 
forth with only a primary knowledge of medicine, privileged by 



48 PACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

their diploma to deal with all the complexities of disease, and 
dose with opium, morphia, strychnine, and arsenic. 

Some years ago the author took a prominent temperance lec- 
turer to task for belittling the medical profession from the public 
platform. He informed me in return that his remarks might not 
apply to my own town, yet he desired to remind me of the fact 
that while the profession of medicine is an exalted and important 
one, and its successful following demands the very highest type 
of devoted manhood, yet a sojourn at any medical college, and 
mingling with its students, would conclusively prove that immo- 
rality, vulgarity, licentiousness, and even debauchery, are not 
positive impediments to obtaining a medical diploma. There 
may be few to whom this language justly applies, but the truth 
is that the medical profession is open to all, and all classes may 
avail themselves of its privileges. Medical colleges turn out, all in a 
bunch, Dr. Excellent, Dr. Good, Dr. Worth, Dr. Fair, Dr. Medium, 
Dr. Commonplace, Dr. Lazy, Dr. Dumb, Dr. Insipid, Dr. Ignorance, 
Dr. Dissipation, and Dr. Don't Care. They all rent offices, put up 
gold-lettered signs with M. D. after their names, and expect the 
people to " pay them for what they know." The welfare of the 
people and justice to the worthy portion of the profession demand 
that the thresholds of our medical institutions be so barricaded 
with moral, intellectual, and other essential restrictions, that none 
but worthy, aspiring applicants can ever cross them ; and that 
the curriculum of study be so comprehensive, and the final test 
so rigid, that none but capable, honorable masters of the profession 
can ever come forth with a medical diploma. There is need of a 
reform — a revolution — in the personnel of the medical profession. 
The people would need to take less medicine if they could always 
have judicious medical advice. Quite one-half of the cases for 
which physicians are consulted really need no medicine at all, 
and seven cases out of ten, with proper hygienic attention, would 
recover without any medical interference whatever. The remaining 
three cases, however, need professional attention, and the very best 
skill within reach of human effort should be available. 

Mental laziness and the fixed habits of old fogyism soon render 
a physician unworthy of patronage. When he ceases to read, 



UNWORTHY MEDICAL PRACTICE. 49 

study, and keep up with the times his usefulness begins to wane. 
The progress of medicine is so rapid that the stationary mind 
soon gets deplorably behind the age. Some time ago I was in 
the office of an aged physician, whose entire medical library, with 
the exception of one book, was over forty years old. Such men 
fail, in every respect, to represent scientific and progressive medi- 
cine. The physician who will not keep abreast of the times has 
outlived his usefulness. 

Above all things, avoid the doctor who has lost faith in medicine. 
Disbelievers are intolerable anywhere. When a preacher announces 
from the pulpit that he has lost faith, he is expected to step down 
and out, and it is just as important for a doctor to do the same. 
When a physician has conducted his practice so carelessly, or has 
been so unsuccessful in his professional career, as to conclude that 
the art of medicine is a failure, he is in no condition of mind or 
heart to render efficient service. The inspiring incentives of hope 
and confidence have bridged numberless critical chasms, and he 
who lacks the magnetic power which faith begets stands half- 
handed in the presence of disease. 

The tattling and gossiping doctor should be avoided. Nobody 
wants his ailments and physical peculiarities peddled in drug 
stores, barber shops, and on the streets. The physician who so 
forgets himself as to whisper from house to house and among his 
associates what is sacredly private, and allows himself to be inter- 
viewed by inquisitive, prying people concerning his patients, has 
forsaken the sacred principles of his calling and degenerated to a 
very low plane of usefulness. As Moses took off his shoes when 
he approached the burning bush that enveloped an angel, because 
he was on holy ground, so should the physician, when he enters 
the sacred apartments of a home, leave at the threshold all except 
his professional skill and personal honor. This point should be 
so strictly adhered to, that should differences at any time arise 
between doctor and patient, and ill feeling and even hatred ensue, 
through it all manly principle should seal the lips. 

Beware of the narrow-minded physician. Narrowness, bigotry, 
or stupidity in medicine is a crime. He who fastens his faith to 
a single idea and discards all else is a bigot. He who allows his 
4 



50 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

mind to run in narrow ruts, and whose ambition is satisfied to 
plod in traditional grooves, is an enemy to the sick. He whose 
convictions become subordinate to the drift of popular whims, 
and who sacrifices his better judgment for the sake of cheap 
favor, ceases to be a physician at all. 



PATENT AND SECRET MEDICINES. 

MAGNITUDE OF THE BUSINESS — MAMMOTH CONCERNS — ENERGY AND PUSH DIS- 
PLAYED — COMPOSITION OF NOSTRUMS — FOLLOWING THE FASHION — RISE AND 
FALL OF REMEDIES — UNSCIENTIFIC DECOCTIONS — RECOMMENDING FOR EVERY- 
THING — VENDERS DISTRUST EACH OTHER— THEIR USE TO BE DISCOURAGED — 
FORMING HABITS OF TAKING THEM— DOSING CHILDREN— COST OF THEM — 
CERTIFICATES OF CLERGYMEN— SCHEMES TO OBTAIN TESTIMONIALS— FATE 
OF NOSTRUM VENDERS. 

A fair estimate of the amount of money expended annually by the 
American people for patent, secret, or proprietary medicines would 
probably place the minimum sum at $75,000,000. Some of the 
most extensive and elaborate business enterprises in our nation 
are devoted to the manufacture and sale of secret medicinal com- 
pounds. About fifteen thousand different preparations are on 
the market, and some of them reach an enormous sale. 

One manufacturer, with whose business I am somewhat 
acquainted, during a single year sent goods directly from his 
manufactory to seventy-five thousand customers, consisting of 
wholesale and retail druggists and general-store keepers through- 
out the United States, and his net profits amounted to one and a 
quarter million of dollars during the same year. I am credibly 
informed by an employee of another manufacturing concern that 
their daily output is about fifteen thousand bottles, each of which 
retails at one dollar, and that the net profits of the firm amount 
to nearly two millions per annum. One bottle of the above 
medicine lasts about twenty days, at which rate three hundred 
thousand people are taking it constantly, and they pay over four 
million dollars annually for the privilege. 



PATENT AND SECRET MEDICINES. 51 

There are a number of equally large concerns and a few even 
larger; indeed, there is one firm doing more business, perhaps, 
than both the above establishments combined. 

It is a fair estimate that in the United States alone several mil- 
lions of persons are daily dosing with some secret or patent medi- 
cine. The greatest expense connected with the trade is the cost 
of advertising, which frequently reaches one-half the amount 
realized ; that is, it takes fifty cents' worth of advertising to sell 
one dollar's worth of goods. As the original cost of the material, 
bottling, wrapping, boxing, etc., is not more than one-fourth of 
the wholesale price, there is left a handsome margin of profit to 
those who succeed in creating an extensive sale for their goods. 

Probably there is no subject concerning which the American 
people have been so persistently informed as that pertaining to 
the fancied and lauded virtues which the various leading patent 
medicines are advertised to possess. And yet there is scarcely 
any other subject of which they are so utterly ignorant as they 
are in regard to the real, intrinsic worth of these medicines, the 
nature of their composition, their action, whether for good or evil, 
upon the human system, or of the various diseases which they 
are supposed to cure. 

There are very few newspapers or periodicals published that 
do not derive a large share of their revenue from the patent 
medicine advertisements they contain. There is nothing in the 
whole domain of business activities that is more successful in 
arresting the attention of the people than patent medicine 
interests. Not only are the newspapers and various periodicals 
paid to praise their virtues, but the public mails carry ingeni- 
ously contrived circulars and pamphlets to almost every house- 
hold. The annual Almanac business is almost monopolized by 
this traffic. Even the railroads and public highways, fences, 
barns, house-roofs, and the rocks and mountains are made to 
proclaim their virtues. 

It cannot be denied that many of the patent medicines on the 
market are composed of ingredients that have long been and 
still are recognized as standard remedies for the diseases for 
which they are recommended. 



52 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

There are some compounds that are well adapted to household 
use in certain minor and well understood ailments. But why it 
is necessary that such a compound should be a private formula, 
which only one man in the United States can mix and supply, 
would be very difficult to explain. 

The question before us is an important one. The use of secret 
preparations is increasing tremendously. Those engaged in 
urging their sale exhibit a degree of business sagacity calculated 
to absorb attention and draw from the people a liberal support. 
The attitude of the people toward their claims is one of conserva- 
tive submission. The learned and the ignorant, the rich and the 
poor, all extend to them their patronage. Almost every home in 
the Union patronizes, to a greater or less extent, the patent medi- 
cine fraternity. 

People of all ages, and those afflicted with any disease, can 
find, in the vocabulary of secret medicines, some one "just suited 
to their case." To the new-born babe are offered "soothing 
syrups " and " anodynes," and all along the journey of life it is 
impossible to suffer a pain or physical infliction without being 
tempted to test the wonderful virtues of some alluring secret 
medicine. 

But to be practical : Of what are patent medicines composed ? 
Is their influence good or bad ? Is there a real need of them ? 
Should the people use them ? 

No doubt many of them are honestly and scientifically pre- 
pared, and in remote districts, where drug stores and physicians 
are scarce, they may fill a legitimate want. But such districts in 
these days are few. Physicians are to be found almost everywhere, 
and the people have access to drug stores in every town or hamlet 
in the country. 

But the patent medicine business no longer depends for support 
upon existing and actual needs. It makes its claims on those 
who enjoy all the advantages of trained and scientific medical aid 
at their very doors. It sets itself up in opposition to, and in suc- 
cessful rivalry with, every advantage which the art of medicine 
possesses. Much of its advertising is a bold demand for the 
patronage of those who are receiving professional treatment. 



PATENT AND SECRET MEDICINES. 53 

Secret medicines are, as a rule, simply a weak decoction of such 
drugs as slightly excite or stimulate the various organs or functions 
of the body. Almost invariably they are advertised as containing 
some rare drug or drugs, or as being so peculiarly or scientifically 
prepared as to act in some specific manner upon disease. There 
is not a single reason for believing a word of such advertising. 
Most of them, on the contrary, are compounded from the cheapest 
of materials, mixed with but little -knowledge of chemistry, 
materia medica, or therapeutics, put into a bottle of the cheapest 
kind, secured by a cork of inferior quality, wrapped in a manner 
attractive to the eye, and sent forth as a panacea for every disease 
to which mankind is subject. 

An authority on the subject has said that " the American people 
like to be humbugged," and it is fair to presume that many of 
those who have ventured into the patent medicine business have 
done so fully convinced of the truth of that assertion. Those 
who have honestly entered the field find that success is largely 
dependent upon deception, distorting the minds of the sick, and 
resorting to questionable business methods ; and that plain, sturdy, 
straightforward principles fail to attract popular attention. Most 
of those who go into the business do so to make money — to get 
rich — and not to benefit mankind. They study human nature 
rather than disease ; they depend for their success upon mental 
weaknesses, perverted ideas, and ignorance, and not upon the 
intrinsic value of their medicines. 

So long as the people are willing to be defrauded there are those 
who will be willing to accommodate them — willing to spend 
sleepless nights in order to devise some plan to enrich their 
coffers with dollars and cents. 

Those who enter the secret medicine business do so with the 
conviction that success depends upon ingeniously manipulating 
human nature. They study to please; they go with the tide, 
wind, sentiment, fashion, or craze. 

No matter how difficult it may be to delude and infatuate the 
people, a brilliant effort is constantly being made by nostrum 
venders to gain their confidence. A few years ago I received a 
circular letter from a new firm, announcing that : " ' Dyspepsia 



54 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

Remedies ' have been laid on the shelf, ' Liver Cures' are no longer 
in demand, ' Kidney Cures ' have become a ' chestnut,' and the 
next craze is going to be a demand for remedies for the Nerves. 
The people will be easily infatuated with this idea. We are 
going to flood your section with Nerve Literature, which will 

create a sudden and liberal demand for ' Dr. 's Great Nerve 

Restorer,' and you had better lay in a supply to meet the demand." 

Patent medicine manufacturers do not, as a rule, make a study 
of medicine or disease, they know little or nothing of chemistry, 
and only a very few of them are graduates in medicine. 

A number of years ago I was consulted by the proprietor of a 
certain "tonic," which had met with considerable sale over a 
large territory. He desired to know why his medicine turned 
dark, and what he could do to prevent it. He told me that it 
contained a little each of two well-known medicines. I told him 
that the tannin in the one united with the iron in the other and 
formed tannate of iron, and that he was compounding and selling 
diluted writing ink ! 

Millions of dollars have been paid by the people of this country 
for a certain secret remedy, the original formula of which, it is 
said, was purchased from an old negro for a few dollars ; it being 
a nauseating, bitter decoction, which the people could not have been 
hired to swallow had they known what it was. An analysis of one 
of the leading popular patent medicines, made some time since, 
showed one of the most conspicuous ingredients to be impurities 
from the water used in its manufacture. Medicines intended for 
popular sale must necessarily be made to suit all classes, ages, 
and temperaments, and they must be so compounded as to meet 
a very broad range of application. 

When a street " doctor " gets up and expatiates upon the virtues 
of his " balsam," " panacea," " elixir of life," " oil," or " stomach 
pad," he is there to sell his goods. He is prepared to recommend 
his medicine for any ailment under the sun, and is willing that 
it be taken internally or applied externally. The same is true 
of most proprietary medicines. They are put forth as a complete 
materia medica. A book of over four hundred pages now lies 
on my desk, intended to advertise a single remedy. One medi- 



PATENT AND SECRET MEDICINES. 55 

cine is recommended for the entire vocabulary of diseases. 
Insanity, mumps, nightmare, rheumatism, and nose-bleed are 
treated from the same bottle. On the concluding page of the 
volume the author modestly says : " It is a lamentable yet well- 
known fact that patients often allow themselves to be led astray 
by pompous recommendations into using a very worthless or 
even injurious remedy." This is probably the only truth which 
the book contains. Four hundred pages of misrepresentation 
diluted with only one sentence of truth ! 

In no other fraternity have brother-members been so prone to 
raise the cry of " fraud " against each other. " Beware of frauds," 
" Beware of imitations," " Look out for impostors," are standing 
cautions in secret-medicine literature, and in no other business 
does suspicion grow so rank. Are those who are so denunciatory 
of their own brotherhood to be trusted ? Let us heed their 
cautions and beware of all of them. 

Is it not time for the people to halt and seriously meditate upon 
this question ? It is safe to predict that so long as there is a 
demand for secret medicines they will be sent forth on sale. 
There are many reasons why the sick should not resort to this 
kind of treatment. The very fact that the ingredients of a 
mixture are unknown is a strong point against its use. When a 
physician is called to see a patient who has been dosed with some 
secret compound, he has no knowledge of what has been tried, 
and often, in consequence, much valuable time is lost. On the 
other hand, if some well-known pharmaceutical preparation had 
been used, the physician would know at once what had been 
taken, and such knowledge can generally be turned to practical 
account. 

The use of patent medicines tends to create a habit of medicine- 
taking. There are thousands of habitual patent medicine takers — 
slaves to patent purgative pills, liver regulators, headache cures, 
bitters, anodynes, and soothing syrups. Year in and year out 
these habitues continue to purchase, swallow, and praise the cruel 
mixtures that hold them in bondage. 

Alcohol, opium, the bromides, and other " drugs that enslave" 
are freely used in secret preparations. Anodynes, hypnotics, nar- 



56 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

cotics, sedatives, and nervines all rapidly create a habit requiring 
their continued use. Medicines taken habitually to produce 
sleep will induce wakefulness when withdrawn. When cathartics 
are taken continuously for a season they create a strong tendency 
to constipation. Alcohol, taken in the form of an elixir with 
iron, or beef, or bitters, remains alcohol, and is just as damaging 
to the system as whiskey or beer. The stimulating " bitters " on 
the market are, most of them, cheap whiskey, doctored with drugs 
to prevent dosing to the point of intoxication. They are the 
origin of much drunkenness. Most of the " malt whiskies " on the 
market are a disgrace to the name of medicine. Soothing syrups, 
so largely given to babies and young children, should be prohib- 
ited by law. Most of them contain opium or morphine, and they 
dwarf both mind and body and create an appetite which will 
strongly tempt to the use of tobacco, alcohol, opium, or the prac- 
tice of some polluting vice in later years. Many children, no 
doubt, die as the result of using soothing syrups. A prominent 
medical journal has estimated the number of deaths from this 
cause at several thousand annually — terrible if true. The mere 

fact that " children cry for " is not conclusive evidence that 

it is good for them. 

Treating disease by taking secret remedies is a costly practice. 
Many people think it is economical, as there are no doctors' bills 
to pay; but just the opposite is the case. The American people 
spend as much money for secret medicines as they do for profes- 
sional treatment, but the real benefit received from each bears no 
comparison. 

The use of patent medicines favors the omission of other cura- 
tive measures. He who resorts to a secret remedy foregoes his 
own ideas of what ought to be done and intrusts his case, practi- 
cally, into the hands of some one whom he never saw and who 
never saw him. If he happens to " hit it right " he may be bene- 
fited ; if not, his money is gone and valuable time is lost. During 
the use of these preparations persons are very apt to neglect other 
important means of relief, such as attention to diet, rest, sleep, 
good habits, hygiene, etc., it being a frequently advertised claim 
that no particular regimen is necessary in connection with their 



PATENT AND SECRET MEDICINES. 57 

use. The extent to which proprietary medicines are advertised 
is simply enormous, and the friendly and confiding attitude of 
the people toward this great mass of hyperbolical literature is a 
sorry comment upon popular judgment. The fact that these 
advertisements are ridiculously pompous, and palpably false and 
vulgar, does not seem to injure the sale of the medicine, even 
with refined and sensible people. One of the worst features of 
the business is the endless parade of certificates from clergymen 
and other well-known persons, recommending all kinds of nos- 
trums. It is a common occurrence to see the country flooded 
with advertisements containing the testimonials, and often the 
pictures, of " prominent divines," said endorsements costing the 
manufacturer only a package of his medicine to the family of 
each clergyman. 

Most of the testimonials to patent medicines are, however, 
either bogus or fraudulently obtained. Manufacturers make over- 
tures to druggists and local agents to procure them. For many 
years the writer has closely watched the subject and industriously 
sought to find one genuine, voluntary, deserving testimonial, but 
so far his efforts have been in vain. Some years ago a manufac- 
turing firm promised a druggist of my acquaintance a handsome 
glass sign if he would procure two bona fide testimonials for a cer- 
tain " tonic bitters." To secure the offer he presented a bottle of 
the " bitters " to each of two ladies, with the understanding that 
they were to sign a letter of recommendation. They did so, and 
to their regret and chagrin both letters soon appeared in the news- 
papers, and although they (through the druggist) protested against 
such publicity, their testimonials were standing advertisements in 
hundreds of newspapers for several months, including some of 
our largest city dailies ; and the worst feature connected with it 
was that the medicine was a miserable alcoholic decoction, unfit 
to enter a decent household. 

It is worthy of note that many of the nostrum venders have 
fallen victims of the diseases they so loudly claimed to cure. It 
is stated that no less than four of the leading American inventors 
of " hair restorers " died bald-headed. A man who has made an 
immense fortune selling a " consumption cure," some years ago 



58 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

gave his own son as a victim to that dread disease. The inventor 
and champion of a " Nature's Wonderful Restorative," some years 
ago, loudly boasted throughout the land that he expected to live 
to see his hundredth year ; yet in a short time disease in a most 
cruel form dissipated his hopes. And thus, down through the 
records of the past, we might trace a suggestive history, until we 
reached the originator of secret medicine, Paracelsus, the medical 
lion of his age, who declared to a captivated world : " I am your 
king ; the monarchy of physic is mine." Infatuated with a wild 
delusion, he invented his " Panacea," and eloquently proclaimed 
to an infatuated world that it would " heal all diseases at once." 
Although like a brilliant meteor he swept across the medical sky, 
admired and idolized by all, he soon became a disappointed and 
neglected wreck, and, at the early age of forty-eight, died an out- 
cast, with a bottle of his " Panacea " in his pocket. 



MEDICAL FRAUDS. 

"DOCTOR" BUCHANAN— BOGUS DIPLOMAS-STRATAGEMS OF CHARLATANS— THE 
LEARNED EASILY DUPED— FAITH OF PKEACHEES — " COMPOUND OXYGEN " — 
FRAUDULENT SCHEMES WELL MANAGED — DECEPTION" EASY — PRINCE OF 
ORANGE— EYE-WATER FROM RIVER SEINE— FAITH CURE— CROMWELL— FAITH 
AND DECEPTION — THE WHIP OF REMORSE — PUBLIC MAILS— REMEDIES 
AGAINST FRAUDS — PHYSICIANS HELPLESS— THE PEOPLE MUST SUPPRESS 
THEM. 

When a boy I lived near, and was intimately acquainted with, 
" Doctor " John Buchanan, of " bogus diploma " fame, then in 
the zenith of his remarkable career. 

His " Eclectic Medical College," " University of Philadelphia," 
etc., was located on Pine Street, Philadelphia, where he and his 
colleagues treated diseases, delivered lectures, published and sold 
medical books, and issued " diplomas " to anybody and everybody 
who would pay for them. 

To all appearances " Doctor " Buchanan was a gentleman ; 
bland, affable, and courteous in his bearing, and he impressed 



MEDICAL FRAUDS. 59 

one as being a man of superior attainments. His language and 
manners were peculiarly captivating. Judging from his general 
deportment and modestly expressed claims, I was strongly im- 
pressed with the belief that he was both great and good, that his 
theories in regard to medicine were correct, and that he was fully 
competent to defend the system which he advocated. I believed 
the persecution he occasionally received at the time to be the 
result of jealousy and malice, and that the adverse criticisms 
thrust upon him were aimed at a much-abused and unfairly- 
treated man. My young imagination, at that time, admitted all 
his claims, and in my eyes he was nothing less than a martyr to 
honest convictions. Like most people, my sympathies naturally 
sided with the "under dog." I watched the subsequent career 
of this remarkable man with intense interest, and can now see 
wherein I was mistaken. He proved to be one of the most dis- 
honest and vilest of men, opposed to all that is pure, noble, 
and good in manhood, ever ready to taint or disgrace an honor- 
able profession, and, like a heartless knave, he was willing, for the 
sake of money and to gratify an ignoble ambition, to bring 
reproach upon the history of American medicine. He was a 
moral leper, a professional pirate, and a public curse. I hope he 
has repented. 

For many years I have watched with absorbing interest the 
stratagems of medical empirics. 

That " nothing resembles a perfect angel so much as a perfect 
devil " applies with peculiar appropriateness to him who practices 
deception under the protecting cloak of a noble profession. 
Refined manners, costly advertising, and attractive embellish- 
ments, and snares of every kind, are the allurements which 
charlatans employ to attract the unwary. Outwardly, most of 
them are cultured, educated, polite, affable, agreeable, modest, 
well dressed, dignified, apparently kind-hearted, social, public 
spirited, philanthropic, and personally magnetic gentlemen. On 
this kind of credit they do a big business. Many of them claim 
to be returned missionaries. Sometimes they modestly place 
"Rev." before their names. The public mails teem with their 
circulars, and unknown and previously unheard-of newspapers 



bO FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

are credited with their laudations. Their offices are among the 
finest, their business methods are often admirable, and their 
apparent standing as citizens, or even as Christians, is often 
above reproach. Professional writers are hired to write taking 
advertisements for the papers, and these ingeniously worded but 
fictitious recommendations are quoted as editorials of special 
significance. This kind of trickery is extensively carried on ; 
indeed, to attract popular attention has become an art. In these 
various ways medical frauds succeed in deceiving the most 
intellectual and cultured. Among their patrons are those whose 
intelligence, observation, and good sense should defend them 
against palpable frauds, but they do not. The educated are as 
easily deceived as the ignorant — perhaps more easily. The best 
trained reasoners in ordinary affairs are, as a rule, entirely void 
of discriminating judgment in medical matters. Ministers of the 
Gospel are perhaps the most ready victims of artful pretenders. 
Their trusting faith, so essential to the power of religion, becomes 
a weakness in the presence of charlatanism. 

The testimonials of nearly every medical pretender, no matter 
how great a fraud he may be, are liberally strengthened b}' minis- 
terial endorsements. These are often solicited, but in such a 
modest and flattering way that the confiding preacher loses sight 
of the responsibility which he takes upon himself and the evil 
that he may be doing. The testimonials of clergymen add sur- 
prisingly to the influence of quackery. Says a recent writer : 
" One of the worst inflictions we endure to-day is the endless 
parade of certificates from clergymen, politicians, merchants, 
lawyers, and other well-known persons recommending all kinds 
of medical nostrums. Every wise man knows that such certificates 
are not worthy of credence, and that the preacher of gospel truth 
who, with absurd solemnity, lends his name and the cloak of 
religion to assist wily charlatans and commercial sharpers to prey 
on the afflicted, must be either a silly dupe or a cruel knave." 

And again : " Every quack knows the influence upon common 
people of a clergyman's endorsement, and hence he makes special 
and too often successful efforts to obtain it, feeling certain that he 
can easily entrap the individuals of the flock after the leader is 



MEDICAL FRAUDS. 6l 

secured. And it is a singular fact, that though few men get more 
gratuitous service out of physicians than ministers of the gospel, 
yet no people do more than they to injure the profession, by the 
countenance they give to various kinds of quackery, pathies, and 
isms." 

Medical pretenders strive to elevate their names or their hobbies 
by launching them out upon the waves of popular favor, or by 
securing, for a season at least, the sentiment of fashion. 

Many worthless remedies and ridiculous theories have become 
extremely popular through the employment of attractive adver- 
tisements. " Baunscheidtism," " Compound Oxygen Treatment," 
" Liver and Kidney Pads," " Electric Belts," " Electricity," and 
various other forms of treatment have enjoyed popular favor 
because great skill and energy have been employed in placing them 
before the public. All of them may possess some virtue, and 
within proper limits might prove a blessing, but the unprincipled 
manner in which they have been advertised has rendered them 
worse than useless. All of them may be good in certain cases, 
but none of them are good for every complaint. 

Some years ago I received an order for a bottle of " Compound 
Oxygen," and applied personally at the laboratory of one of 
the leading manufacturers of this much-advertised article and 
paid thirteen dollars in cash for a bottle of the mysterious mix- 
ture. I delivered it to my customer as carefully as though 
it had been a solution of gold, and charged him one dollar as 
my share of the profits. I have long since learned that the 
" compound " was practically nothing but water, which was the 
only time in my experience in which I cleared one dollar on a 
single pint of this abundant liquid. It would not be true, how- 
ever, to say that this article does no good. A prominent chemist 
analyzed several specimens of it, from various manufacturers, 
some years ago, and the following is a portion of his report : — 

" It should be remembered that this solution is to be used by 
inhalation, a teaspoonful being added to a small quantity of warm 
water, through which air is drawn by means of a glass tube. 
Neither of the substances contained in the solution is volatile at 
the temperature at which the solution is used, so that it is impos- 



62 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

sible for any medicinal property whatever to be imparted by this 
boasted remedy, except what comes from the warm water, which 
is itself very healing when used in this way, as we have demon- 
strated in hundreds of cases." Oxygen is the chief element of 
both water and air, and its presence in either is essential to life, 
and the proportions and chemical combination are, no doubt, in 
accord with the exact needs of mankind. There may be condi- 
tions, however, where its greater diffusibility is advantageous, but 
why water and air should freely come to us in such abundance, 
and the modified or improved combinations cost from eight to 
thirteen dollars per pint, is calculated to evoke criticism at least. 

Contrary to what might be supposed, a high-priced medical 
fraud is more apt than any other to impart a benefit. When an 
enormous price is paid for a treatment we are apt to carefully 
co-operate with it and rigidly follow the directions, and as these 
high-priced articles are usually accompanied by exceedingly 
important and commendable directions in regard to diet, hygiene, 
and personal habits, the cost of the treatment magnifies the 
necessity of following instructions. If the treatment continues 
for several weeks the discipline of habits often has a most salutary 
effect. Perhaps this, after all, is the aim of some of those who 
advertise strange kinds of treatment. The money consideration 
not only enriches the manufacturer, but arouses the helpful sym- 
pathies of the patient. 

The craft of medical fraud is exceptionally well manned. Those 
who have chosen it as a field of activity are men capable of mak- 
ing a brilliant effort to attain success. It is a fact worthy of note 
that medical charlatans avoid such diseases as are likely to be 
quickly recovered from or prove fatal in a short space of time. 
They aim to reach those whose diseases are of a chronic, consti- 
tutional, or permanently fixed condition. As chronic constitu- 
tional maladies are greatly influenced by the mind, it is very easy 
for medical vampires, when they once secure the confidence of a 
victim, to make him feel apprehensive and anxious before begin- 
ning their treatment, and to look with hopeful expectancy for 
relief during its use. 

It is safe to assume that, taking the victims of chronic diseases 



MEDICAL FRAUDS. 63 

as they run, nine out of ten would, for a short season, apparently 
improve by taking ten drops of colored water twenty minutes 
after each meal and ten minutes before going to bed, provided the 
water cost them three dollars per ounce and they were ignorant 
of what it was. The world has furnished examples without 
number to prove the truth of the above assertion. 

When the scurvy broke out among the soldiers at the siege of 
Breda, in 1625, and became a dreadful scourge, so that the dead 
and dying invited despair and the great numbers sick made sur- 
render imminent, the Prince of Orange, with remarkable tact, 
claimed to have in his possession a priceless medicine that would 
speedily cure the disease which was then raging amidst his army. 
He offered to furnish it free, and sent his physicians with the pre- 
cious balsam. Four drops were sufficient to medicate a gallon of 
water, and the soldiers eagerly seized the offered boon and were 
speedily cured. " Those who declared that all previous remedies 
made them worse recovered perfectly in a few days, and the dis- 
ease soon disappeared. The vials contained nothing but water." 

Many years ago, in the city of Paris, a man who had gained 
much celebrity and a handsome income by treating sore eyes, 
suddenly died. His widow, being anxious that the revenue 
should continue, claimed to know the secret of her husband's 
remedy, and placed on the market what was supposed to be the 
same article, in the form of an eye water. It enjoyed a large sale 
and gave universal satisfaction for the purpose intended. On 
her death -bed, however, the conscience-stricken woman confessed 
that the " eye water " she had been selling was nothing more nor 
less than water she had taken from the river Seine. 

Every physician knows by experience what it is to get praise 
when least deserved. Scores of people are " cheated into a feeling 
of health by globules or teaspoonful doses of flavored water, or 
licorice powder, or some other simple and harmless nostrum. 
Some who seem to be magically benefited by a teaspoonful of — 
nothing — will actually thank the doctor for saving their lives. 
What a sad commentary on the discerning public of the nine- 
teenth century ! What a sad fact for legitimate medicine ! What 
a gold mine for humbugs ! " 



04 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

But cases quite similar to the foregoing in their results, but not 
in their motives, are not always frauds, and this brings us to 
consider the medical aspects of Faith Cure and other imponderable 
forces. 

In many disorders, especially those of a dyspeptic, hypochon- 
driac, or nervous character, faith is a remedy of a most powerful 
kind, if it be connected with adherence to strict hygienic rules. 
It is a wonderful tonic ; so powerful, indeed, that it can " re- 
move mountains," metaphorically ; but it must not be persisted 
in in opposition to all those sanitary conditions as to pure air, 
proper exercise, and suitable clothing and diet, which should be 
observed by all. Cromwell's soldiers, relying upon the justice 
of their cause, were accustomed to talk much of " Trusting in 
Providence." " That is right," said Cromwell ; " trust in Provi- 
dence — but keep your powder dry." The old Puritan well knew 
that blind faith in worldly matters is but a mockery of Divine 
law, and he fully realized how important it is not to forego any 
of those natural and human agencies which Providence has made 
essential to success. 

We believe in faith and faith cures, that is, in mental stimulus 
of various kinds, as in many cases a most excellent medical 
remedy, and the skillful physician will know when and how to 
use it. But at the same time he will enforce upon his patients 
the necessity of correct living to accompany this faith. He will 
adopt the spirit of Cromwell's maxim : " Trust in faith, but — act in 
accordance with the requirements of health." 

Sir Humphrey Davy once sent a medical student to examine 
a man who had called on him for treatment of a long-standing 
chronic complaint. The student, in order to ascertain the man's 
temperature, applied the bulb of a thermometer beneath his 
tongue. The man, thinking it was part of the treatment, and 
believing that the charm was working, soon declared that he felt 
much better. The student, taking the hint, told his patient that 
he would continue the treatment the next day. He repeated the 
treatment for a few days, and the man's faith and confidence in 
his physician soon restored him to perfect health. 

The stimulus of mental excitement, or mental occupations, 



MEDICAL FRAUDS. 65 

pleasant news, the calling to mind of pleasant scenes, and some- 
times even anger, will not infrequently produce in a patient 
changes that prepare the way for recovery. Despondency in sick- 
ness is always an evil omen, and skillful is the doctor who can 
transform the despairing mind into one of hopeful expectancy. 
Every one has experienced how excitement will banish pain, and 
there is no more magical remedy for the toothache than to seri- 
ously start in the direction of a dentist's office. 

There are many diseases which owe their origin to mental 
causes, and they are often cured by mental remedies. Whether 
this is on the homeopathic principle of Similia similibus curantur 
we will not say, but wherever facts lead, the true physician will 
not hesitate to follow. It is well known that nervous diseases 
disappear during periods of public alarm and political convul- 
sion. The French Revolution abounded in examples of this 
character and medical records are full of them. Dr. Gregory 
relates the case of a naval officer who had long been laid up in his 
cabin and entirely unable to move, from a violent attack of gout, 
when word was brought to him that his vessel was on fire. In a 
few moments he was on deck and the most active man in the 
ship. A woman who had been many years paralytic recovered 
the use of her limbs when she was much terrified during a thun- 
der-storm. A man affected in the same manner recovered very 
suddenly when his house was on fire ; and another, who had been 
sick for six years, was restored to the use of his paralytic limbs 
during a violent paroxysm of anger. A London physician, who 
had exhausted his skill in treating a dyspeptic patient, advised 
him to go to a certain town in Scotland and consult there a cele- 
brated physician, whose name he gave him. On arriving there 
the patient learned that there was no such person to be found. 
Chagrined and angry, he returned to London, but he was obliged 
to confess that he was cured of his disorder. 

With such facts before us and similar occurrences constantly 
taking place, is it wonderful that empirics and charlatans, shrewd 
in judging of character and artful in duping the credulous and 
ignorant, should sometimes acquire a great reputation for the cure 
of nervous disorders by magic formulas and worthless nostrums? 

5 



66 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

Some time ago the writer undertook to dissuade a bright, intelli- 
gent young man from entering a proposed field of medical hum- 
buggery. He replied, with a triumphant countenance : " It is 
fashionable, and a man, if he expects to be successful, must follow 
the fashion, even in medicine." As a picture looks better on a dark 
background, so with medical frauds. The more ignorant and 
superstitious the people are, and the more prejudiced they are 
against real truth, the better will deception flourish. 

Men who have exposed themselves to those diseases which come 
down to them as a penalty upon sin, swarm around arrant frauds 
like moths about a lighted candle. There is no lash more pow- 
erful and slavish than that which remorse and a memory of past 
sins lays upon those who feel stricken with the penalties of trans- 
gression. Let the sting of remorse rest upon a man's conscience, 
and every little physical ill strikes terror to his soul. No matter 
how many times he has repented, or how free from taint his system 
may be, the least impairment of health — pain in the back, sore 
throat, digestive derangement, or skin affection — disturbs his 
mind. The vulgar and obscene advertisements to be found in 
many newspapers and which flood the mails in secret circulars 
are read with eager solicitude. Such expressions as " manhood 
lost," " early decay," " imprudence of youth," etc., often inflict 
upon innocent minds the penalty of self-reproach ; and those in 
whom reflection begets fear will, almost to a man, offer themselves 
as a sacrifice at the shrine of cruel and heartless villainy. I 
received per mail this day an elegantly gotten-up sixty-page 
pamphlet from one of these charlatans. On the front cover is a 
well-executed monogram, with the following words : " Nervous 
Diseases — Treatise." The book, from cover to cover, is made up 
of quotations from the Bible and Shakespeare, a mixture of sacred 
things w T ith pretentious learning and vile and silly allusions. 
" Treatment— one month, $5.00; three months, $10.00." The 
United States Government should render such villainy in the 
matter of indecent publications impossible. The lottery business 
in no sense compares with it. 

The fact that fraudulent pretenders of almost every conceivable 
character are found in the realm of medicine is apparent to all. 



MEDICAL FRAUDS. 67 

For a half century they have flourished and multiplied, and their 
ranks are constantly being enlarged by new recruits. It must be 
admitted that to one in whose mind the accumulation of wealth 
is the dominant ambition, the field of fraud and quackery is more 
inviting than that of legitimate, rational medicine. 

The question arises : What are we going to do about it ? Who 
is at fault ? Who must decide whether it shall continue or not ? 

We can never hope to see medical impostors decrease so long 
as their business is as lucrative as it is now ; neither can we 
expect honorable physicians to enter into open conflict with them. 
No matter how keenly legitimate and honorable physicians feel 
the influence of quackery, or how much the system of scientific 
medicine is disgraced by it, all open opposition to it has so far 
been used by those against whom it was directed to gain notoriety 
and popular favor. 

In many countries there are strict laws prohibiting medical 
frauds, and no enactments receive more general sanction and 
none are fraught with greater public good. America, however, 
is a free country, and, considering the wealth and influence vested 
in quackery and the status of legislative enactments, it is likely 
to remain so, as far as the right to get rich on the credulity of 
the sick is concerned. 

If charlatanism does not admit of correction — and it does not; 
if professional rivalry cannot overthrow it — and it cannot ; if 
lawmakers will not suppress it — and they will not, — there remains 
but one remedy, and that must come from the people. Upon the 
ignorance, lack of discrimination, and gullibility of the people 
the success of medical frauds depends ; while intelligence, good 
judgment, and a knowledge of their true character only are 
needed to effect their overthrow. There is a moral side to this 
question, the import of which is, unfortunately, too often over- 
looked. No man has a right to intrust his life and health, and 
the lives and health of those for whom he is responsible, in the 
hands of any pretender. 

Since the days when Paracelsus discovered his wonderful 
" Panacea " that turned out to be useless, quacks and medical 
imposters have pretended to be in possession of knowledge which 



FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 



the rest of the world did not possess, and fortunes have been made 
by their pretensions. Yet, notwithstanding the fact that new and 
valuable discoveries have been constantly added to the vocabulary 
of remedies, scarcely a single one has come to us through the 
self-lauding representatives of the art. 

Sensible and influential members of the community can do 
much to overthrow quackery if they will give no countenance to 
the false issues upon which empirics and dishonorable physi- 
cians so much depend. While honorable and regularly educated 
physicians are struggling to elevate the standard of medical 
education and practice, and to rid this noble profession of the 
abuses which lower its character and impair its usefulness, they 
have a right to demand of the community which is to be espe- 
cially benefited by their efforts a loyal and active support. 
Whether this aid shall be extended will depend upon the men 
of influence in other professions and occupations outside of the 
domain of medicine. 



QUACK DOCTORS. 

HUMBUGS PARTIAL TO MEDICINE — WHO ABE QUACKS — FALSE PRETENTIONS — 
OPIUM AND ALCOHOL CURES— BRAG — MISREPRESENTING THE PHYSICIAN — 
SCHEMES TO GET PATRONS — POSING AS EX-PREACHERS— FREE PRESCRIP- 
TIONS — SPECIALISTS— TRAVELING QUACKS — ONE REMEDY FOR EVERYTHING 
— HOBBY-RIDERS— VULGAR LITERATURE. 

Throughout our land may be found men who are practicing 
the profession of medicine, yet who never pursued a regular 
course of medical study and who hold no diploma from any 
medical college. There is also a class of regular graduates who, 
instead of following their chosen calling in a legitimate way and 
adding to the usefulness and honor of the profession, have become 
charlatans, who flood the country with deceiving advertisements, 
and claim for themselves exceptional skill in the art of healing. 

Many of those who practice without a diploma are educated, 
intelligent men, yet this fact is no guarantee that they know 



QUACK DOCTORS. 69 

enough about the human system to treat its ailments. The author 
has come in contact with many men of this kind, and in no 
instance can he recall a single irregular practitioner or quack 
doctor in whose knowledge or skill he could for a moment confide. 
Perhaps it might be said that the most honest persons among this 
class are those whose ignorance renders them unconscious of the 
real character and importance of medical practice. 

The realm of medicine has always been a favorite resort for 
fraudulent and wicked men. The sick have willing ears, anxious 
hearts, and open purses — " Everything a man hath will he give 
for his life." Perhaps no persons in the world are so easily 
attracted and duped as those who have cause to be concerned in 
regard to their health. To feel out of health creates a natural 
inclination to seek relief through the medium of medicine. The 
American people are naturally bilious, nervous, dyspeptic, dissat- 
isfied, and anxious, and in no country in the world does quackery 
flourish to so great an extent as here. 

What constitutes a quack doctor ? Any person who pretends 
to excel all others in curing disease, or who claims to possess 
knowledge in regard to the art of medicine of which the profes- 
sion in common are ignorant, is a quack. Unprofessional adver- 
tisers are quacks, and those who prescribe through the mails, 
who itinerate from place to place, and those who have not been 
regularly educated. It is safe to say that no honest physician is 
in possession of knowledge of which other intelligent and edu- 
cated members of the profession are ignorant. If Dr. A knows 
what will cure consumption or any other malady and will not let 
the world know the remedy, he deserves to be hung up by the 
big toes, or by the hair of his head, until he makes it public. 

We receive circulars through the mails and read in the news- 
papers of " Doctors" A to Z, who claim, in turn, to know how to 
cure rheumatism, catarrh, asthma, consumption, epilepsy, cancer, 
scrofula, Bright's disease, dyspepsia, and every other ill which 
flesh is heir to. The question arises, Are their statements true 
or false? False ! every one of them. 

I have just received a handsome circular from a man who 
claims to be able to cure the opium habit. His picture adorns the 



70 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

title-page ; he poses as a benefactor. For three dollars he will 
send enough of the " cure " to last ten days. " Positive cure." 

Here is another who can cure drunkenness. " Wonderful dis- 
covery !" " Guaranteed to cure." " It can be placed in the coffee 
or tea of the patient without its being detected." " Never known 
to fail." 

Here is still another. " It will cure both the opium habit and 
drunkenness." " The greatest discovery of the age." " Endorsed 
by the medical profession." "Thousands have been cured." 
What heartless wretches such men are ! They are worse than 
thieves — the whole of them. There is scarcely a paper published 
without an advertisement of some pretender who claims to be 
able to cure catarrh or consumption by some very simple process. 
If he told the truth he need not advertise it; he could make 
an independent fortune in two years, and not spend a cent in 
advertising. All he would have to do would be to put it up and 
sell it. Its fame would spread more rapidly than the " 13, 14, 15 
Puzzle " or " Pigs in the Clover." Millions of people would be 
cured in less than one year, and the name of the discoverer 
would be emblazoned on the pages of history. The same, to a 
certain extent, might be said of real cures for all diseases. Those 
afflicted are anxious and eager to find relief, and if cured will 
industriously circulate the fact. 

Quack doctors are generally regarded as a somewhat harmless 
class of men, but a little reflection will reveal the fact that they 
are the source of untold misery, suffering, and death. 

Quacks, every one of them, magnify every-day ailments into 
important complaints or serious maladies. A pain in the side is 
called pleurisy ; a common cold becomes bronchitis or " an alarm- 
ing symptom of pneumonia ; " a tired back becomes Bright's dis- 
ease, and chronic dyspepsia, according to their diagnosis, is ulcer 
or cancer of the stomach. Unimportant symptoms, such as we 
all daily experience, are very suggestive to the minds of many, 
and the quack doctor reaps a harvest b} r dwelling upon their sig- 
nificance and magnifying their importance. Quacks depend 
largely upon brag. They are always ready with stereotyped lan- 
guage to make known the wonderful success they have enjoyed ; 



QUACK DOCTORS. 71 

at the same time they are adepts at belittling the efforts of others. 
They could " back " a boil or carbuncle if called early ; they 
could cure a cancer " if some one else had not tampered with it ; " 
they make a specialty of dyspepsia and catarrh ; they " do not 
debilitate, but build up ; " they "have attended thousands of cases 
of confinement, hundreds of cases of diphtheria, scarlet fever, 
typhoid fever, whooping cough, and cholera infantum without 
losing a case." Such statements should never be believed, because 
they are unqualified misrepresentations. 

The quack, the irregular, " half " doctor, and meddler, always 
have the advantage over the regular physician in presenting their 
claims to the people for recognition. Their advice is solicited in 
mild cases only, while all the serious cases are placed in the hands 
of the educated physician. Cases that would rapidly recover 
without medical assistance and really need none, such persons 
will treat and claim to have cured as a mark of their skill. If 
there are fifty cases of whooping cough in a neighborhood, per- 
haps four or five will be very severe, and perchance two or three 
may die. The regular practitioner must attend the severe cases 
and lose a part of his patients, while some irregular has peddled 
out his syrup to the remainder and not lost a single case. The 
quack will be apt to claim that his treatment " nipped the disease 
in the bud," and that the " old school doctor," with his " calomel 
and blue mass," made the disease worse, and as likely as not will 
insinuate that the deaths occurred as a consequence of the treat- 
ment adopted. 

Quacks who advertise and reach their patients through the 
mails adopt all sorts of schemes to attract patronage. They will 
manage to get the names of the consumptives, asthmatics, dys- 
peptics, or hypochondriac persons in a neighborhood, and will 
mail to each one a pamphlet or book calculated to arouse all possi- 
ble suspicion in the minds of the readers that they are seriously 
ill, and that the only ray of hope must come from the skill of the 
advertiser. There is a tremendous amount of doctoring done in 
this way. Perhaps some afflicted one will be offered medicine 
free if he will secure a certain number of patients, or some igno- 



72 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

rant one, as is too often the case, will volunteer, as a charitable 
act, to plan a foothold for such frauds in a community. 

A very deceptive plan adopted by many quacks during the 
past few years consists in offering to send prescriptions through 
the mails free of charge upon application. Most of these men 
claim to be returned missionaries or cured invalids, and some of 
them pose as Reverend Divines. Those who send for a prescrip- 
tion always receive it by return mail. It is written in semi-Latin, 
and the unskilled layman sees nothing peculiar about it. The 
accompanying circular letter intimates that any good druggist can 
fill it, but extreme caution is given in regard to one or two ingre- 
dients, and the inventor offers to compound it and send it by 
express in case the local druggist cannot prepare it. This all 
seems very reasonable, but the trouble is, no druggist can com- 
pound these gratuitous, philanthropic proscriptions. 

The price of these mixtures at headquarters, and they can he 
filled nowhere else, is usually $3.00. Among the fictitious names 
they have used are "kanke root," "blodgetti," "alantin," "red 
lava," etc., put there to prevent any druggist from compounding 
them. 

During recent years another form of deception has met with 
great success. Xewspapers have been flooded with advertisements 
disguised as items of special interest. In each advertisement is 
adroitly woven a receipt for curing some disease of the lungs, 
stomach, liver, kidneys or for rheumatism, the complexion or the 
hair. A fictitious name, resembling some person prominent in 
literary or social life is often given as the author of the advice. 
One ingredient named is always a small package of some common- 
place stuff put upon the market by the advertiser. The trick is so 
plausible that if it fits the case of the reader it is cut out and 
taken to the druggist, who empties the little package into a bottle 
and adds the other ingredients named ; usually whiskey, gin, bay 
rum or syrup, and perhaps a little real medicine, and hands it to 
the customer, who has bought a patent nostrum without knowing 
it. Some of these articles have had an enormous sale, being com- 
pounded hundreds of thousands of times. Many of the medical 
receipts appearing in newspapers are of this kind. 



QUACK DOCTORS. 73 

Some years ago a young man came to my store to get one of 
these philanthropic prescriptions rilled, and when I told him that 
it was a fraud, to my astonishment he produced an advertising 
pamphlet containing my name printed therein as the local agent. 
At the time I wrote to other persons whose names were in the 
pamphlet, and found that their names also had been used without 
authority. 

There is another form of quackery the followers of which style 
themselves Specialists. Medicine offers no wider contrasts than 
exist between the honest and loyal specialist on the one hand and 
the dishonest and disloyal on the other. The former renders the 
greatest possible good to the community ; the latter is the most 
pernicious of all quacks. These ignorant pretenders are found 
in every large city and they often itinerate the country. They 
advertise liberally, and they have a special proclivity for female 
complaints, dyspepsia, catarrh, chronic affections, worms, and 
nervous diseases. They choose those affections to which any per- 
son, and especially those of morbid feelings, can easily imagine 
themselves victims. Let ooe hundred persons consult a specialist 
on catarrh, and one hundred will be told that they are its victims. 
Let another hundred consult the worm doctor, and he, with 
scarcely a question, will pronounce the whole category of symp- 
toms due to intestinal parasites. No matter what the symptoms 
are, or what the original cause may be, the charlatan specialist 
never fails to diagnose a case so as to bring it within the limits 
of his own practice. 

Another form of quackery, almost or quite as preposterous in 
its claims as the foregoing, embraces those who, with one remedy, 
undertake to cure all diseases. They will use the same medicine 
for every conceivable affection, and as their success depends upon 
the large number of persons who give their medicine a trial, they 
boom it and themselves with grandiloquent advertisements, and 
some large fortunes have been made by this class of practi- 
tioners. 

Another class of irregulars who advertise and go from place to 
place practicing the healing art pretend to disbelieve in the virtue 
of drugs, and forego their use entirely in their efforts to cure the 



74 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

sick. There are those who claim that mental impressions, 
influencing of the nerve fluids, and the powers of magnetic force, 
and not medicines, turn sickness into health. Others assert that 
the finer forces, such as light, heat, color, or moral impressions, 
are more potent and rational than drugs. 

Numberless theories have their advocates, who not only cham- 
pion their truthfulness, but ingraft their doctrines into systems of 
practice. In no branch of knowledge have theorists been so pro- 
lific as in the realm of therapeutics — the discovery and applica- 
tion of remedies for diseases. Notwithstanding the abundance 
of accumulated debris in this fertile field — the wrecks of false 
theories — pretenders, both great and small, plausible and ridicu- 
lous, still swarm forth to dupe and defraud the too credulous 
public. Inspired by the possible bonanza in prospect, many of 
these adventurers succeed in arresting public attention and a few 
excite a short-lived craze, only to fade away and give place to 
some new and equally absurd delusion. 

Perhaps the greatest injury which charlatans inflict upon the 
people results from the filthy and vulgar literature with which 
they have flooded the country. A great number of quack medi- 
cine books, and the public advertisements of a legion of quack 
nostrum venders, while they contain little or nothing of intrinsic 
value, are entirely unfit for family use. The moral influence of 
such literature is extremely bad and disgraceful to the name of 
medicine. 

There are subjects of special pathology that are appropriate to 
the medical lecture-room and strictly professional books, and 
which it is sufficient that the physician alone should understand. 
They are not subjects upon a familiarity with which depend the 
health and happiness of intelligent and decent people, and they 
should find no place in books for the family or for general 
reading. 



TAKING TOO MUCH MEDICINE. 75 



TAKING TOO MUCH MEDICINE. 

INCREASE OF USE OP DRUGS — HABIT — FALSE IDEAS OF MEDICINES — DELETERIOUS 
EFFECTS OF DRUGS — MEDICINE DOES HARM WHEN NOT INDICATED — MANY 
TREATMENTS AT ONCE — OTHER MEASURES OFTEN SUFFICIENT — CAREFULNESS 
ALWAYS NECESSARY— WORSHIPING DRUGS— SANITATION VS. DRUGS. 

That the American people are in the habit of taking too much 
medicine cannot be denied, and the worst feature of the case is 
that the use of medicine is rapidly on the increase. The use of 
medicines has drifted very rapidly from a luxury to a necessity, 
and from a necessity to a habit. 

The consumption of hypnotics, narcotics, anodynes, and stimu- 
lants is enormous. The annual consumption of such drugs as 
chloral, bromide of potash, etc., amounts to hundreds of tons each. 
The amount of opium used, aside from opium eating, is tremen- 
dous. The chloral habit and the morphine habit are taking their 
places beside the opium habit, and some new, fascinating drug is 
almost annually added to the list of " Drugs that enslave." The 
deceptive feature connected with the abuse of all drugs, except 
opium, alcohol, and tobacco, is that the victim imagines the 
craving for the drug to be due to existing disease, and not to the 
force of habit. 

Most medicines, when long used, beget in the human system a 
physiological demand for their continuance. The attainment of 
health is becoming more and more a matter of concern. The 
physique of the people is becoming more tense and nervous and 
more cognizant of its pains and aches. We no sooner become 
aware of the fact that we have nerves than we try to feel them 
vibrate; knowledge of a stomach creates an interest in its welfare; 
to locate the liver is to become in sympathy with it; to become 
familiar with our functional complexity is to disturb it by mental 
meddling. Lecturers in medical colleges often warn students on 
these points, as students of medicine are always in danger of 
becoming deluded with the thought that the diseases they hear 
described so graphically are lurking in their systems. When our 



76 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

attention is once arrested we are ready to lend a willing ear to 
every cry of pain. No disagreeable feeling or functional derange- 
ment, no matter how trivial, escapes our notice. The sympathy 
between our consciousness and our physical condition becomes 
intense, and busy with messages conveying the intelligence of a 
pain yonder, a soreness in some vital region, a tenderness in some 
deep-seated organ, or an unnatural condition of some function. 
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." We read medical 
almanacs, patent medicine advertisements, we pry into our case 
by an investigation, we look at the tongue, we count the pulse 
and examine the excretions. No being is so nearly perfect in 
health but what an anxious, ignorant search will discover some- 
thing to arouse concern. If dissipation or licentiousness has ever 
tainted one's life, their memory will add remorse to the penalty 
of transgression, and will induce that unwholesome mental con- 
dition which is not long without its counterpart — a deranged 
body. When once we feel assured that we are out of health, no 
argument is necessary to convince us that we need some sort of 
medicine. Thousands of people arrive at this point daily, and 
most of them seek relief through the medium of drugs. To such 
persons a patent medicine advertisement " hits exactly," and 
secret nostrums are eagerly sought for by those who need but 
little or perhaps no medicine at all. 

All medicine has the power to create in the system the elements 
of habit. No matter what the drug may be, if it be taken reg- 
ularly for any length of time, its sudden withdrawal will be 
accompanied by certain failures on the part of those organs upon 
which it acted, and a need of its continuance will be felt. Any 
new article of commerce thrown upon the market will meet more 
or less sale ; so with medicine in the system — the supply creates 
a demand. The disease or derangement for which a drug was 
administered may have disappeared, yet a desire for the medicine 
has been created, and the morbid appetite demands it. Thousands 
and tens of thousands of people are constantly taking medicine 
to relieve symptoms caused and maintained by the very medicine 
they are taking. Nerves require stimulating because they have 
been stimulated to weakness; livers are being excited because 



TAKING TOO MUCH MEDICINE. 77 

they have been excited to torpidity ; stomachs are being toned 
up because they have been toned down ; kidneys are being acted 
upon because they have been acted on too much, and the bowels 
need cathartics because they have been purged into constipation. 
The reactionary powers of drugs are deceptive and insidious, yet 
sure, and not appreciated as they should be by the medical pro- 
fession, while the laity are almost entirely ignorant of the subject. 

The evils growing out of taking too much medicine are mani- 
fold. Those who rely too implicitly upon the powers of medicine 
are apt to become careless and forego the use of other remedial 
measures. They are likely to be wholly controlled by their 
feelings. So circumspect do some persons become over their 
sensibilities that they are like the tree, " so straight that they 
lean the other way." Such people are easily infatuated with 
medical proposals or with any one who will listen to their ail- 
ment and lend sympathizing suggestions. 

Those who readily resort to drugs fail to realize the fact that 
nearly all medicines are in themselves injurious. We apply 
blisters to relieve internal congestions and inflammations, but it 
must be remembered that blisters themselves are very undesirable, 
and unless they modify the trouble for which they are applied 
they are injurious. We give opium to relieve pain, yet opium is 
very deleterious in its general effects ; we give bromide of potash 
to prevent spasms, yet it is apt to derange the stomach and other- 
wise prove objectionable. 

Medical treatment, at best, is simply choosing the lesser of two 
evils. I have seen the skull opened to relieve pressure upon the 
brain, a proceeding which of itself threatened life. We often 
adopt measures that are in some respects quite undesirable in 
order to modify or dissipate conditions which tend to destroy life. 
We remove one eye to save the other, and all along the line of 
curative measures we recognize a law which condemns medicine 
unless its use is necessary. Ill-advised measures are great hin- 
drances to the sick. Doing the wrong thing is a transgression, 
the effect of which, unfortunately, cannot always be fully ap- 
preciated 

Medicines were never intended to be taken carelessly, promiscu- 



78 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

ously, or ignorantly. Not a single dose of any medicine should 
ever be taken without some well-defined reasons for its adminis- 
tration. To be giving or taking various medicines merely because 
it is supposed that some medicine is necessary is poor policy. 

Only one treatment at a time should be employed for the same 
affection. I am sure that this rule is constantly ignored. Many 
people have so little faith in medicine that they will try two, 
three, or more things, all at once, in order to get well in a 
hurry. Some time since a well-educated and intelligent gentle- 
man consulted the writer in regard to his wife's illness, stating 
that she was taking medicines from two physicians, and in addi- 
tion she was taking three patent medicines. He desired to know 
if there was any " conflict between the various medicines in her 
system, or any danger of an explosion." How many different 
drugs the three proprietary articles contained I know not, but 
the two physicians were administering eleven different articles. 
A short time ago a gentleman of my acquaintance was being 
prescribed for by three different physicians, and at the same 
time he was taking three patent medicines — virtually turning his 
stomach into an automatic chemical laboratory. I am convinced 
that this careless, wholesale, and pernicious practice of taking 
medicines is quite common. 

Physicians often give more medicine than their good judgment 
dictates simply because they know their patients will be dissatis- 
fied with less. They would forego the use of medicine entirely 
in many instances were it not essential to satisfy the minds of 
patients. People too often put a premium on the man who is 
willing to deceive with bread pills or some other useless nostrum. 
He who has lost faith in everything in the shape of medicine, 
unless it will do the work by prompt and powerful action, is in 
no condition of mind to gain health through its aid. Health is 
found in a normal condition of the body and a natural activity 
of its various organs and functions, and why it is necessary to 
" scrape the liver," " clean out the stomach," and " turn the bowels 
inside out" in order to set up a healthy, normal, unconscious 
action, would be difficult to explain. 

Dependence upon simple measures within reach and a proper 



TAKING TOO MUCH MEDICINE. 79 

use of them constitute a great barrier against the approaches of 
disease. Opportune rest, quietness, abstinence from food, the use 
of warm drinks, avoiding night air, temperance, keeping the feet 
dry, and a thousand other things which a little thoughtful 'com- 
mon sense will suggest, will often secure immunity from disease, 
while carelessness and exposure invite sickness and often death, 
no matter how much medicine may be taken. 

People are careless with their health, because they imagine that 
sickness can be easily cured ; they ruin their eyes by straining 
them, because they can procure spectacles ; they are willing to 
neglect their teeth, because they can buy new ones. When young, 
they are profligate and wasteful of strength, because they believe 
their strength will bridge them over the consequences of their 
dissipations. Such people fail to appreciate the importance of 
the great care of both body and mind which an infinite and wise 
Maker requires of them. 

The impression that some people get of the necessity of a 
" good cleaning out " once a week, or a u course of medicine " 
now and then, is a very erroneous one and one that jeopardizes 
good health. Medicine has its legitimate field of usefulness, and 
when kept within proper limits and intelligently prescribed it is 
a source of health, happiness, and life ; but when used without 
reference to its real indications, it becomes a pernicious evil. 

People not only acquire the habit of taking too much medicine, 
but physicians are very prone to load their prescriptions with a 
superabundance of drugs. A friend of my early childhood, now 
a skillful physician, addressing a medical convention, some time 
ago, said : — 

" There are few physicians to-day who do not try a ' shot-gun ' 
prescription at an obscure disease. Death lurking in ambush 
might get a stray pellet and retire. Even in these last ten years 
I have known the most maddening variety of drugs administered 
in pulmonary tuberculosis. Whence this all-pervading worship 
of foul, ill-smelling drugs? We throw into the vitals of mankind 
roots and herbs and seeds, liquors and gums and oils, sodas 
and zincs and leads, poisons and counter-poisons, and expect, 
somehow, to see evolved the charm of perfect cure." After show- 



80 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

ing by statistics that the use of drugs was enormous and on the 
increase, he continued : " What feeling of pulses and sounding 
of ribs, analyzing of fluids, grouping of symptoms, pausing and 
weighing and doubting, go with all these figures ! What rasping 
of drugs in the apothecaries' pots, rolling of pills, swishing of 
liquids ! The drowsy nurse fumbles at vials, while the clock ticks 
drearily, and the sick man stares at the ceiling and groans at the 
trooping phantasmagoria of his mind! What hard-earned money 
is swallowed up for his dismal potions before he swallows them ! 
Drugs help us to a certain extent, but we have found a more 
powerful magic in mountain air and rolling seas, gay converse, 
riding, driving, wheeling, rowing, and travel. The sanitarian 
saves more lives to-day than did all the doctors of the last century, 
Jenner excepted." 



UNNECESSARY MEDICINE. 

ONLY THE SICK NEED MEDICINE— MISNOMERS— DECEPTION NOT NEEDED — 
REAL SICKNESS— GENERAL HEALTH— PERFECT HEALTH— APOSTLE PAUL- 
INCURABLE DISEASES— OVER-CONFIDENCE IN MEDICINE— COMFORTS RATHER 
THAN MEDICINE — MEDICINE OFTEN THE ONLY AVAILABLE RECOURSE — 
DOSING BABIES. 

" They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are 
sick." An erroneous idea of what constitutes disease and also of 
the real value of medicine are the chief reasons why people take 
so much medicine unnecessarily. He who knows his condition 
and is aware of what ought to be done, is apt to discover, in 
many instances, that he really needs no medicine, and in many 
cases that some hygienic measure will afford the desired relief. 

Nervous people and those with frail bodies, are apt to magnify 
their ailments, and the least symptom of ill health becomes a 
matter of concern. Such persons are exceedingly prone to resort 
to medicine. Those who are chronicly "half sick" take more 
medicine than those who are really ill, and those whose affliction 
exists only in the imagination take more medicine than all others. 



UNNECESSARY MEDICINE. 81 

Hundreds of times have I been consulted by people who were 
about half sick, who wanted something, they knew not what. 
Such feelings are periodical with some people. They get m the 
habit of taking a dose of pills every Saturday night, or some 
other routine treatment. The least indisposition brings to mind 
their "old trouble" and suggests " their remedy," when in reality 
no medicine whatever is needed, but, instead, a regulation of the 
diet, a change of occupation, and a better observance of the rules 
of health. 

Medicines are only needed when other things fail. They 
should be the last, not the first resort. People seem to forget this. 
Advertisements have raised the popular opinion of medicine so 
high that other things are lost sight of. To depend for health 
absolutely upon the power of drugs is an almost universal fault 
with a certain class of invalids. At best drugs can only aid 
nature, relieve faulty conditions, and give nature a chance to 
repair. Drugs that relieve pain seldom do so by removing the 
cause ; they simply deaden the sensibilities. Sometimes nature 
takes advantage of the brief lull of pain to interpose relief, and 
sometimes not. No pain-relieving drug should be continued after 
the pain for which it was given has ceased. 

A great amount of unnecessary medicine is taken by those who 
are incurable, such as victims of organic diseases of the lungs, 
heart, liver, and kidneys. A dependence upon the power of 
drugs, instead of conforming to strict laws of health in these 
affections, is productive of much mischief. 

Such terms as " Liver Cure," " Kidney Cure," " Lung Restorer," 
etc., give a very wrong impression, for in nearly every instance 
such titles are misnomers. Excepting in rare instances such 
medicines have no curative effect whatever, and they may be 
positively injurious. But suppose that a few out of the many 
various "cures" do possess some special virtues and to some 
extent represent the claims of those who advertise them, the 
remainder — a very large majority of the whole — are either com- 
monplace, injurious, or worthless. But they are all held up with 
equal recommendations, they all secure the "highest endorse- 
ments," and are alike vaunted by their proprietors for the won- 



82 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

derful and magic cures which they have wrought. How then 
shall the deluded public judge between them? Some persons 
argue that the recoveries which take place as the result of the 
mental and inspiring influence connected with taking these 
greatly advertised nostrums furnishes a reason for their manu- 
facture and sale, even if they possess no other virtue. Such 
theories are a relic of the dark ages, and such practices can 
flourish only as a result of superstition and ignorance. Deluding 
the credulous with mysteries and deceiving the people into health 
— dominant minds making slaves of the untutored — is a species 
of mental slavery which belongs to the history of the benighted 
past, and should not be necessary or tolerated, except in special 
individual cases, in the present enlightened age. If the composi- 
tion of all the secret medicines and the mysteries of all the adver- 
tised systems of medical practice were made known, while a few 
would withstand the test of all honorable criticism, the most of 
them would become totally wrecked by the publicity, and, like 
frustrated vermin, they would chase each other into oblivion. To 
claim that such so-called remedies are necessary to cure disease is 
a libel upon the intelligence and better judgment of the people. 

An erroneous impression in regard to what constitutes disease 
requiring medical treatment causes much unnecessary medicine 
to be taken. Many people believe that perfect health is possible, 
and that the least departure from this high standard calls for 
some remedy to restore them. To rear such a standard is very 
erroneous, as it places nearly all of mankind at once on the 
invalid or sick list, as very few indeed can claim perfect health. 
A writer upon this subject says: " A trained observer can notice 
a lack of perfect health in nine persons out of ten as they pass 
along the street in any city or town," yet this fact should not 
suggest an idea that nine-tenths of the people need medicine. It 
may be that the one-tenth, who are exceptionally blessed, owe 
their good fortune to the fact that they follow the natural laws of 
health and hygiene and avoid medicine altogether. 

There is a standard of health which belongs to each individual, 
and it ranges from perfect to very imperfect physical conditions. 
When these conditions become fixed their aggregate represents 



UNNECESSARY MEDICINE. 83 

the " usual " or " general " health of the individual, and it is 
seldom possible to materially change such conditions through the 
use of medicines. The Apostle Paul had a " thorn in the flesh " 
and prayed earnestly for its removal. Not prevailing, he ceased 
further effort at its removal and "most gladly" accepted the 
situation. The majority of mankind to-day have some " thorn 
in the flesh " existing as a permanent physiological condition, 
and to spend a lifetime in the effort to remove it is a waste of 
time, and money, and a sacrifice of earthly enjoyment. These 
conditions can often be removed, however, and nothing short of 
perfect health should form the ideal. They must be outlived 
and outgrown, and the sources of their existence must be cut off 
by correct living. If these things are done medicine will be 
unnecessary. 

Persons afflicted with cancer, consumption, or other fatal mala- 
dies, when advanced beyond a possibility of recovery, take a great 
quantity of unnecessary medicine. Such persons can employ 
their minds in a much more profitable way than in following a 
forlorn hope through the medium of drugs. During a single 
year ten persons died of malignant cancer under my observation, 
and all of them, until the last, were grasping at anything and 
everything that offered the faintest hope, either in the realm of 
quackery or otherwise, in many instances embracing such treat- 
ment as aggravated the disease and imposed great discomfort upon 
the patient. In such cases comfort of body, tranquillity of mind, 
and a Christian submission to the inevitable, embrace all that can 
be accomplished, and any attempt to do more only adds to the 
suffering. 

Over-confidence in medicine does much harm. When we place 
too much reliance in drugs we are apt to forget and forego other 
and often more important measures. We are apt to resort to 
" bitters " when the appetite fails, notwithstanding that the distaste 
for food is often a wise provision of nature to rest the digestive 
organs. We resort to stimulants to relieve fatigue and lassitude 
when rest is the only thing necessary. We involuntarily fiy to 
cathartics in constipation when a change of diet is a much better 
thing to do. We seldom search for the cause of our suffering, but 



84 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

simply make an effort to modify or destroy the most prominent 
symptoms. Instead of accepting pain, suffering, and disease as 
admonitions to change our diet, habits, or modes of living, we 
resort to drugs. Tonics, stimulants, cathartics, and diuretics are 
swallowed under the impression that it is a good thing to " clean 
out the stomach," " stimulate the liver," or " act on the kidneys," 
forgetting that over-action is always followed by a season of las- 
situde and depression. It is just as senseless to expect a stimu- 
lating or irritating drug, taken every few days, to improve the 
natural functions of the body as it would be to expect a person's 
temper or disposition to improve by making him angry every few 
days. 

Depending upon medicine and resorting to its use unnecessarily 
tends to make a person a slave to it. There are thousands of 
people who, by using medicine when not needed, have become 
dependent upon its use. They try first one remedy, then another, 
and keep it up for a lifetime. They lose sight of the fact that 
there are resources conducive to good health other than those of 
medicine. They associate one remedy with headache, another 
with dyspepsia, another with constipation, another with neuralgia. 
No matter what disease is named, there is only one resource thought 
of, and that is — some medicine. First one medicine, then another, 
becomes a temporary hobby with some people, and their infatuation 
is more or less contagious. 

A very strong objection to taking medicine when it is not neces- 
sary, aside from the direct harm it does, is its expense. If one 
dozen bottles of Dr. Norwegian's Lung Cure costs ten dollars, and 
two suits of all-wool underclothing and a pair of water-proof 
thick-soled shoes can be bought for the same money, where only 
one or the other can be afforded, always select the clothing if it 
is needed. If it is going to cost twenty dollars to try some new 
remedy for dyspepsia, the question whether it would not be better 
to spend the money for appropriate, easily-digested food, or spend 
a few weeks at the seashore, or take some other recuperative trip 
instead, should always be considered. 

Tens of thousands of dollars that are annually spent for drugs, 
would do infinitely more good were the amount spent for clothing 



UNNECESSARY MEDICINE. 85 

and food, and rest from business, and recreation and change, and 
such other measures as are calculated to bring personal comfort 
and bodily health. I am not decrying the proper use of drugs — 
far from it. When properly used in connection with other appro- 
priate measures they are a great blessing, but when they are taken 
independently of other considerations their use is not only expen- 
sive, but pernicious. 

The existing demand for medicines and the trial to which they 
are subjected in cases where all hygienic rules are disregarded, 
greatly impair, if they do not utterly destroy, their efficiency. 
People are willing to take medicine, but will entirely disregard 
directions in regard to diet and personal habits. The wants and 
necessities of daily life are so exacting that occupations, be they 
ever so confining or debilitating, cannot usually be abandoned. 
Most modern cookery is of too concentrated nutriment, too stimu- 
lating, too exciting to the appetite ; so that, with idle habits, we 
indulge too much in the pleasures of the table to be compatible 
with the greatest enjoyment, the greatest mental and bodily vigor, 
and the firmest health. Any radical regulation of diet, tempera- 
ture, clothing, exercise, etc., is too often beyond our control. The 
only available recourse in many instances seems to be medicine. 
Nine persons out of ten, when sick, think of little else than medi- 
cal treatment, and if, in their helplessness, they fall into the clutches 
of quackery, they become easy victims of delusion. Do not 
imagine that medicine alone will cure, or that it is necessary in 
all cases of pain or ill health. Never be offended when told by a 
physician that no medicine is needed. As stated elsewhere, it 
requires just as much learning to know when it is not necessary 
as to know when it is required, and it requires infinitely more 
courage to say it is not needed than to regard the expectations of 
patients by prescribing medicines. 

Perhaps more unnecessary medicines are given to babies and 
small children than to any other class. Soothing syrups, baby 
syrups, and various anodynes are so persistently advertised that 
parents are constantly reminded of the supposed virtues of these 
mixtures, and dosing babies has become almost a fashion. 

A child very seldom requires any medicine whatever. If it is 



86 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

sleepless, fretful, or feverish these things indicate that something 
is being done or given to it already which is out of place, and to 
add medicine only increases the trouble. 

Proper food, pure air, cleanliness, and rest, if properly utilized, 
will remedy most of the disorders of childhood. If the food is 
not of proper quality or amount we may expect some sort of 
ailment to result as a consequence, and the cure must always 
come through a proper regulation of the diet. To give a dose of 
soothing syrup or other opiate to quiet a restless child, not only 
clogs the mind, but the secretions as well, and when such dosing 
is kept up there is danger of dwarfing the mind and laying a 
foundation for evil habits in later years. 

It should be remembered that a child will be restless, fretful, 
sick at the stomach, or have a high fever at a very slight provo- 
cation, and such conditions are usually removed by very simple 
measures. A change of diet, a simple enema of soap and water, 
a warm bath, or some other simple measure will usually render 
drugs entirely unnecessary. A baby or small child never needs 
medicine unless it is really sick, and then it is best always to 
consult a physician. It is the height of folly to imagine that a 
new-born babe needs saffron tea, that its early cries are calls for 
catnip, and that the various indispositions of infancy and child- 
hood are best treated by soothing syrups, anodynes, and cordials. 

Our brilliant poet, Will Carleton, in " The Doctor's Story," 
has graphically set forth the influences which dominate in too 
many sick-rooms. It well illustrates the disadvantages which 
every physician — and most sick persons, too — occasionally encoun- 
ters and the result which too often follows if a physician pre- 
scribes according to his candid judgment when no medicines 
are necessary : — 

Good folks ever will have their way — 
Good folks ever for it must pay. 
But we, who are here and everywhere, 
The burden of their faults must bear. 
We must shoulder others' shame, 
Fight their follies, and take their blame ; 
Purge the body and humor the mind ; 
Doctor the eyes when the soul is blind j 



UNNECESSARY MEDICINE. 

Build the column of health erect 
On the quicksands of neglect. 
Always shouldering others' shame, 
Bearing their faults and taking the blame 



Deacon Rogers, he came to me : 
'Wife is goin' to die," said he ; 
'Doctors great an' doctors small 
Haven't improved her any at all ; 
Physic and blister, powders and pills, 
And nothing sure but the doctors' bills ! 
Twenty old women, with remedies new, 
Bother my wife the whole day through ; 
Sweet as honey or bitter as gall, 
Poor old woman, she takes 'em all ; 
Sour or sweet, whatever they choose, 
Poor old woman, she daren't refuse. 
So she pleases whoe'er may call, 
An' death is suited the best of all. 
Physic an' blister, powder an' pill — 
Bound to conquer and sure to kill ! " 



Mrs. Rogers lay in her bed, 
Bandaged and blistered from foot to head 
Blistered and bandaged from head to toe, 
Mrs. Rogers was very low. 
Bottle and saucer, spoon and cup, 
On the table stood bravely up ; 
Physics of high and low degree : 
Calomel, catnip, boneset tea — 
Everything a body could bear, 
Excepting light and water and aie. 
I opened the blinds ; the day was bright, 
And God gave Mrs. Rogers some light. 
I opened the window ; the day was fair, 
And God gave Mrs. Rogers some air. 
Bottles and blister, powders and pills, 
Catnip, boneset, syrups and squills, 
Drugs and medicines, high and low, 
I threw them as far as I could throw. 
"What are you doing? " my patient cried 
"Frightening Death," I coolly replied. 
"You are crazy," a visitor said ; 
I flung a bottle at her head. 



88 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

Deacon Rogers, lie came to me : 
"Wife is coming 'round," said he ; 
"I really think she will worry through ; 

She scolds me just as she used to do. 

All the people have poohed and slurred ; 

All the neighbors have had their word. 

"Twere better to perish,' some of 'em say, 

' Than be cured in such an irregular way.' " 



'Your wife," said I, " had God's good care, 
And His remedies— light and water and air 
All the doctors, beyond a doubt, 
Couldn't have cured Mrs. Eogers without." 



The Deacon smiled and bowed his head, 
' ' Then your bill is nothing, ' ' he said ; 
"God's be the glory, as you say ! 

God bless you, Doctor ! Good day ! Good day 



If well-meaning friends and kind neighbors would recommend 
more of " God's remedies " above described, and less of their own 
concoctions, it would not only "frighten Death," but much of the 
sickness, away. " Light, water, and air," rest, sleep, contentment, 
exercise, etc., are not only mighty bulwarks against the encroach- 
ments of disease, but they should be first considered in the treat- 
ment where sickness has overtaken us. If this was done " medi- 
cine made by men " would be seldom necessary. 



IMAGINARY DISEASES. 89 



IMAGINARY DISEASES. 

POWER OF IMAGINATION— A TYPICAL CASE— INTESTINAL SNAKES— PERVERTING 
THE MIND— BLISSFUL IGNORANCE— FRIGHTENING THE PEOPLE INTO SICK- 
NESS—ERRONEOUS CONCLUSIONS— SPURIOUS HYDROPHOBIA— FATAL CASE OF 
" IMAGINATION "—PHYSICAL DELUSIONS NEED NO PHYSIC. 

In no way does the imagination act more profoundly than upon 
the bodily health, and in turn nothing gives to the imagination 
a more interesting scope of action than one's physical condition. 

Some years ago a bright, intelligent, robust young man, in 
whom I had taken considerable interest, came to me in great 
distress and asked the loan of fifteen dollars. Knowing that he 
had an indulgent father, his request somewhat surprised me. 
After some conversation I told him I had no objection to loaning 
him the money, but before doing so I would require him to inform 
me what he was going to do with it. He hesitated considerably at 
this demand, but he finally decided to tell me. With a long face 
and fallen countenance he informed me that his health was about 
to break down, and he desired the money to get cured. I was 
struck with amazement. To all appearances he was the picture 
of health, and with great anxiety I began to question him about 
his condition. He informed me that he really was very badly 
off; that he had consulted a physician who had informed him 
that unless he received prompt and proper treatment his health 
would give way and he would not live long. I told the young 
man that I did not think he could be so seriously affected, as he 
looked the picture of health. He informed me that he had con- 
sulted one of the leading physicians of America, one who had 
" studied in Europe," and that this doctor had told him that he, 
the doctor, was the only person in this country who could cure 
him. 

I began to see through the matter. We had a long talk, and I 
found after a thorough questioning that the young man was 
enjoying perfect health, had never had a sick day in his life, and 
from every indication would live to a good old age. This young 



90 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

man had become concerned about his health through reading a 
small book designed as an advertisement, and then had consulted 
its author, who had his office in the rear of an anatomical museum 
on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. He entered the trap a pure- 
minded, chaste, healthy boy of seventeen, and made his exit a 
forlorn and wretched candidate for the grave. It was a difficult 

task to convince him that Dr. was a base scoundrel, that 

he, the young man, was in perfect health, and that his affliction 
existed in the imagination only. Fearing that my persuasion 
was incomplete, I told the young man I would give him some 
medicine, and accordingly I mixed for him a little peppermint, 
water, etc., and gave him five dollars, with the understanding 
that he should enter no more anatomical museums and consult 
no other doctor. In a short time he had dismissed the matter 
from his mind and was completely cured. Although years have 
passed, he has enjoyed excellent health, is married and living 
happily. Absolutely nothing was the matter with him except a 
temporarily diseased mind. It was simply a disordered imagi- 
nation. 

The matter of health had never entered this young man's 
mind, but visiting this den of iniquity, existing under the cloak 
of science and medical art, it had entirely engrossed his atten- 
tion, and the quack, acting as " free consulting physician," had 
branded the imagination with a false impression. 

I know a gentleman who has been taking medicine almost con- 
stantly for twenty years for an imaginary heart disease. All he 
needs is rest and contentment of mind. Another gentleman of 
my acquaintance, a college graduate, has been taking medicine 
almost daily for twelve years and has spent hundreds of dollars 
trying to cure what he considers an " internal cancer." To all 
appearances he is well and enjoys fairly good health. Had his 
disease been real instead of imaginary he would have gone to his 
long home years ago. Another gentleman has remained in his 
room, most of the time in bed, for twenty years, because he imag- 
ines himself very delicate and believes that an exposure to the 
pure, fresh air outside of his own house would jeopardize his life. 
For yeaxs J have been intimately acquainted with a lady who 



IMAGINARY DISEASES. 91 

imagines that her stomach is inhabited by snakes. She has for 
many years been taking first one remedy, then another, to kill 
them. Her life is a burden to her, and although she is a stout, 
healthy woman, her imagination keeps her in constant terror. It 
is useless to try to allay her fears. She replies to all my efforts to 
enlighten her : " Doctor, it is no use to deny it ; I know they 
are there. I can feel them crawl from place to place ; there is no 
mistake about it." Her mind seems to be totally absorbed in 
following these hideous reptiles from one part of her body to 
another. 

The imagination is a powerful factor in maintaining the sup- 
posed prevalence of female complaints. Quacks, irregulars, and 
— it is humiliating to admit — many physicians in good standing 
seem to foster the idea of physical weaknesses, and for the sake 
of money to torture a delicate but not sickly woman into a life of 
anxious suffering. Women who should have been left in blissful 
ignorance of their organization, and whose minds should be 
absorbed in pleasant occupations, often become the suffering 
dupes of heartless medical pretenders. Says a late writer : " God 
only knows how many young women in our land are tormented 
with apparitions of imaginary evils, which have no existence 
except in some physician's false teaching ; young women, who, 
had not the subject been suggested to their minds, would have 
lived a lifetime without even a thought of anything wrong." 
* * * "If there is a wretch meaner than all others in the 
sight of God, it must be the physician who, void of moral sense, 
would exaggerate the nature of a case and terrify the sick, simply 
for dollars and cents." 

A short time ago a pamphlet was circulated over the country 
giving the people directions how to ascertain, by self-examination, 
whether they enjoyed perfect health or not. A certain standard of 
health was erected, and all those who fell short of this were, accord- 
ing to the pamphlet, sick and in need of medicine. The adver- 
tiser, a quack doctor who wrote the pamphlet, greatly deplored 
the physical degeneracy of the human race, and with frightening 
forebodings warned his readers not to neglect the matter, as every 
one was liable to be the victim of subtle disease, even if no appa- 



92 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

rent symptoms existed. He informed the people, under the guise 
of a confiding secret, that " not more than one person out of five 
hundred is really healthy." His scheme and advice was to take 
the matter by the forelock, and by the use of his wonderful 
restoring medicines, prevent the approaching maladies. Accord- 
ing to such idea of disease and such inflicting sophistry, at least 
ninety-nine of the hundred millions of our people are sick and 
should resort to medicine at once. That the people of our nation 
must be persistently importuned by such pernicious advertising 
literature is one of the attending evils of liberty and advancing 
civilization. 

One of the leading medical teachers of our country, in a public 
address delivered some years ago, asserted that the main reason 
why quacks are successful is on account of the roseate and hopeful 
outlook they hold before the sick and suffering. He claimed that 
the regular practitioner fails to impart to his patients cheerfulness 
and hope, while the charlatan makes prominent these feelings as 
a stimulus in curing disease. This, however, is not altogether a 
true statement. Quacks, medical pretenders, and secret medicine 
manufacturers spend millions of dollars annually trying to con- 
vince the people, by cruel advertisements, that they are sick. 
Almost every quack advertisement is a misrepresentation, like a 
red flag, betokening some danger, but which is only imaginary. 
They picture to the people black clouds of physical despair, on 
which they paint their own names as a silver lining in cheerful 
colors. It is a common thing for physicians and druggists to 
encounter those who have " been kept in a furnace of anxiety and 
terror for months or years by the deception of some rapacious and 
shameless quack, or the ignorance of some novice in the profession, 
who made them believe that they were victims of some dread 
disease, when, in fact, they had really never had even a sign or 
symptom of it." 

We are apt to forget, when considering physical derangements, 
that we are "one-third physical and two-thirds mental." We 
aim at the physical signs of disease only, and no matter how 
prominent the mental influences may be, we often fail to observe 
them. People conclude they are sick by taking account of imagi- 



IMAGINARY DISEASES. 93 

nary impressions. They overlook the fact that real diseases are 
accompanied by well-defined physical s}^mptoms. 

In the popular mind a chronic cough is always associated with 
consumption; palpitation erroneously suggests serious heart 
trouble ; neuralgia between the ribs (a very common affection) is 
very suggestive of pulmonary disease, and chronic bronchitis is 
often taken for consumption, while a loss of flesh and appetite is 
very apt to suggest a serious failure of the powers of life. The 
imagination is a prominent characteristic in very many well-known 
affections. Paralysis, neuralgia, insanity, dyspepsia, constipation, 
and many other ailments are greatly influenced by the imagination. 

I quote the following from an excellent medical work, written 
by a prominent and able surgeon:* — 

" Some of the most able and careful medical men are of the 
opinion that most, if not all, cases of so-called hydrophobia are 
spurious ; that is, they are not hydrophobia at all. I have myself 
studied this subject with great care for years, and have become 
satisfied that the popular theory in regard to hydrophobia is 
utterly wrong. In most of the reported cases the patients have 
been alarmed by what they thought, and frightened by what inju- 
dicious friends or timid doctors have said and done, until they 
died of sheer terror. So in case of a bite from a supposed mad 
dog, let the things suggested above be done ; then let quiet be 
secured and the very best medical man in the place sent for. It 
is a very serious matter, and calls for the clearest head and most 
extensive information. Whoever gets flurried and shows alarm 
at such times is scarcely less dangerous than the dog that did the 
biting. Then let no one breathe 'hydrophobia' or talk about 
what has happened. By this the chances of escape will be in- 
creased." The same author calls attention to the fact that " so- 
called hydrophobia exists exactly in proportion to the common 
belief in it." " It seems to have disappeared from Pennsylvania, 
and is extremely rare in any part of the United States." Lan- 



*"What to Do First in Emergencies," by Charles W. Dalles, M. n. Third 
Edition. P. BlakLston, Son & Co., No. 1012 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Price 
75 cents. 



94 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

guage similar to the above might be written in regard to a large 
number of ailments. I quote the following from the writings of 
a reliable New England physician : — 

" Some medical students determined to try the influence of the 
imagination upon a countryman who was going into town to 
market. They met him, one after the other, each telling him how 
pale and sick he looked. At first, as he felt perfectly well, he paid 
no regard to it, but after two or three had accosted him he began to 
think there must be something the matter with him. By the 
influence of the imagination he soon began to feel badly and to 
look really pale. And as he still continued to meet persons who 
declared themselves struck with his peculiarly sickly and ghastly 
appearance he grew worse, and the result was he sickened and 
died." The question suggests itself: How many thousands grow 
pale, sicken, and die annually from reading quack advertisements? 

A writer has said : " If the people of the United States don't 
take care, they will suddenly find themselves obliged to call upon 
barbarians to strengthen up the national physique. The people 
have too little blood and too much nerve." They are eminently 
prepared to imagine themselves sick, and they are being cun- 
ningly and diligently deluded into the belief that the best way 
out is to implore the aid of a fostered system of quackery. This 
is an unfortunate delusion. Proper mental training and physical 
development, out-of-door exercise, a more wholesome diet, less 
alcohol and tobacco, and more contentment all have a mission in 
the right direction. Real diseases may require medicine, but 
imaginary affections must be out-grown, out-lived, and out-witted. 



INCREASING REGARD FOR LIFE AND HEALTH. 95 

INCREASING REGARD FOR LIFE AND HEALTH. 

The past twenty years represent an epocli in human progress 
embracing every field of thought and activity. Science and art 
were never so active and restless, earnest and busy as now. In- 
vention, original research, industry and ambition have brought us 
a new era in civilization. 

The Practice of Medicine and Surgery and the Conservation of 
Life and Health have experienced a revolution in methods of 
treatment and in the popular appreciation of a stronger and 
healthier race. The advancement made during the past twenty 
years in medical and surgical knowledge is almost as great as 
that of the former twenty centuries. 

The successful use of Antiseptics and Germicides in medical and 
surgical practice has brought a new system of therapeutics and 
rendered many serious surgical operations safe and practical 
that were formerly not only unwise but impossible. Indeed, new 
discoveries have given to medicine and surgery new conceptions 
of usefulness and revolutionized the importance of the microscope, 
the laboratory and the labors of the bacteriologist. 

The discovery of the Roentgen or X-ray has contributed new 
methods of diagnosis and its use promises to materially aid in the 
successful treatment of cancer, tumors, morbid growths and other 
maladies heretofore beyond the reach of human skill. Discoveries 
in the uses of electricity in various ways are constantly adding 
new power over diseases of the nervous system, muscular tissues 
and in removing extraneous deposits, and it is constantly becom- 
ing of greater practical use in the hands of the up-to-date phy- 
sician. 

The introduction and demonstrated value of the animal prod- 
uct antitoxin, is one of the most brilliant achievements of the 
age. Its power to prevent and modify the ravages of diphtheria 
places it in the same class as vaccine, and among the greatest 
benefactions to mankind. While antitoxins for other diseases, 
such as lockjaw, rabies, tetanus, typhoid fever, tuberculosis and 
cancer have not been so definitely demonstrated, their virtues are 
no longer an empty experiment and future research no doubt will 



96 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

render their use an important agent in the hands of every progres- 
sive physician. 

The discoveries regarding the spread of yellow fever are among 
the most important in all history, and made doubly so on account 
of the construction of the canal connecting the Atlantic and 
Pacific oceans and the inevitable development of the tributary 
tropics. 

When, in the year 1900, Major Walter Reed, a young Army 
Surgeon, demonstrated by experiments that the insect stegomyia 
fasciata, a species of mosquito, tramsmits yellow fever by sucking 
the blood of those afflicted and then after a lapse of twelve days 
biting other persons, he gave to the world what General Leonard 
Wood declared to be "the greatest medical discovery of modern 
time," and of which Prof. Welch, of Johns Hopkins University, 
said: "With the exception of the discovery of anaesthesia Dr. 
Reed's researches are the most valuable contribution to science 
ever made in this country." 

It is now also known that mosquitoes carry not only yellow 
fever but malaria and other miasmatic poisons and that flies and 
other insects and animals are vehicles for the transmission of 
disease germs. How to curtail or entirely prevent such contagion 
is becoming a matter of public and legislative concern. Active re- 
search is constantly being made as how best to obliterate the mos- 
quito and housefly, and already the use of chemicals and systems 
of drainage are being employed to prevent the propagation of ob- 
noxious insects and disease germs and the movement promises 
ultimate success. 

The national Pure Food and Drug Laws have wrought untold 
benefits to the entire domain of business and to the public in 
general. That the various states are supplementing the national 
government by the enactment of similar laws shows the universal 
approval of a determined effort in behalf of pure food and drugs. 
These laws have had a most radical and wholesome effect upon the 
sale of medicines and the products of the pharmaceutical chemist. 
Every official article now offered for sale by druggists must be of 
standard strength and conform to the Pharmacopoeia. This is 
as it should be and adds tremendously to the responsibility of the 
seller of drugs and medicines. 



INCREASING REGARD FOR LIFE AND HEALTH. 97 

Far reaching as these laws are legal restrictions should go 
further. The ingredients and working formula of every secret 
or patient medicine should be made public and printed upon the 
label and be subject to official inspection. Nor should the phy- 
sician be free from all restraint in the administration of drugs. 
The medicines upon the shelf or in the case of the doctor should 
be subject to the same legal oversight as those in the store of the 
pharmacist. 

Laws have also been enacted in most states during recent years 
prohibiting the sale of drugs that enslave through the formation 
of habit. Only a few years ago druggists almost everywhere were 
allowed to sell any drug, in any quantity, to anybody, as often 
as called for. As a result the use of opium, morphine, laudanum, 
cocaine, chloral and other drugs were being used to an alarming 
extent. That these poisons can no longer be sold promiscuously 
is in accord with genuine progress. 

The passage of laws intended to protect life and health and the 
formation of Boards of Health in almost every community have 
done much to prevent disease and confine contagion to the nar- 
rowest limit. 

Laws demanding greater safety during travel on both land and 
sea, the legal demand for fire escapes, the requiring of wireless 
telegraphy on ships and better ventilation of public halls and 
schoolrooms, the forbidding of child labor and the increased 
regard for the health of those who labor in stores and factories, 
especially women, are all in response to an increased appreciation 
of health and life. 

With this progress has come a more general diffusion of knowl- 
edge regarding hygiene and health. Medical colleges are now 
teaching a wide range of studies embracing almost every phase 
of prevention as well as applied treatment of disease. The effi- 
ciency of medical practice has been greatly reinforced during re- 
cent years by the trained nurse. Into no calling have women en- 
tered with more preparation and energy than that of nursing, and 
medical colleges and hospitals everywhere have adopted the 
systematic training of nurses as a part of their curriculum. As 
a consequence graduated nurses, and legally recognized as such, 
are available in every community and their aid greatly promotes 
the success of the physician and surgeon. 



98 FACTS ABOUT MEDICINE. 

A hopeful sign of the times is an aroused conscience regarding 
the conservation of health and the physical improvement of the 
race. Business enterprise, religion, politics and social ethics 
are all hecoming more and more concerned regarding life and 
health. It is at last admitted that physical, mental and moral 
strength, energy and beauty require soundness of body. 

An important and far-reaching movement is being advanced to 
curtail or prevent the marriage of the idiotic and imbecile, the 
defective and unfit. 

The care of infants and children has become a public concern. 
To be well born and well trained and cared for is rapidly becoming 
the recognized birthright of every child. 

Philanthropy and the altruistic spirit of the age are becoming 
more and more concerned in the subject of health. Provision is 
being made, through liberal endowments, for original research, 
and men and women of the highest skill and learning find it pos- 
sible to devote their lives to the study of the prevention of disease 
and the prolonging of life. Equipped with every possible aid, they 
are laboring to find the cause and cure of cancer, tuberculosis, 
spinal meningitis, the hookworm and many other maladies now 
little understood. And never were health recuperating forces so 
eagerly sought as now. The annual vacation, the automobile, the 
riding horse, the solitude of the forest, the sands of the seashore, 
the salt air of the ocean voyage, the pure air of the mountains, the 
climate of Canada or Florida, the altitude of Colorado or Arizona, 
the alterative effects of mineral springs, the sports of the lawn and 
field and the relaxation of travel and amusements have all become 
agencies to promote the health of both body and mind. 

The promotion of life and health has become an essential part 
of our progressive civilization. To carry its benefits to other 
lands is a part of our nation's mission. Already is it true that 
the medical missionary is a dominant factor in uplifting the 
heathen in foreign lands. So far the science of medicine is the 
strongest support that religion has received in reaching those in 
spiritual darkness. And when Christian civilization becomes a 
world power, practical and progressive medicine and surgery of 
which our nation has been a leader, will be one of its chief pillars 
of support. 



PART II. 



DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

THEIR NATURE, CAUSE, SYMPTOMS, 
PREVENTION, AND CURE. 



EMBRACING 

MANY CONDITIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY NOT CLASSIFIED AS 

DISEASES, YET WHICH CALL FOR MEDII/AL 

CONSIDERATION. 



PART II. 
DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 



PHYSICAL SIGNS OF DISEASE. 

We distinguish one disease from another by taking into account 
the various symptoms which characterize each individual case, 
and the various conditions under which it occurs. 

To be able to recognize particular diseases is one of the most 
difficult and important branches of the medical art. The age, 
occupation, previous history, inherited tendencies, predispositions, 
habits, and mental, physical, or nervous peculiarities of the 
patient, are all to have their weight in arriving at a correct con- 
clusion regarding the nature, extent, and probable result of disease. 

The history of each individual attack must also be inquired 
into, and its supposed exciting cause, the manner of its beginning, 
and the general routine of symptoms, as they have in time mani- 
fested themselves, must all be considered. 

When the above conditions of the patient have been learned, 
the present condition is to be carefully investigated. Those 
symptoms which have become visible to the patient himself are 
of prime importance. Most intelligent persons, when they become 
sick, will group together the sensations they experience, and arrive 
at some conclusion in regard to the nature of their malady. It 
may be of crude construction, erroneous from a scientific stand- 
point, and in no sense corresponding with the technical impression 
in the mind of a professional ; yet, as a rule, it conveys an idea 
of the true condition well worth considering ; and the physician 
who ignores the opinions of his patients, robs himself of an im- 
portant factor in diagnosis. An interchange of opinions between 

101 



102 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

patient and physician would often secure a correct conclusion in 
regard to the nature of disease, which otherwise might not be 
reached. 

Those who have the care of the sick should also be consulted, 
because they have a special interest in those to whom they are 
devoting their attention. Such persons are on hand to witness 
every changing feature, and in a special manner, become cogni- 
zant of every symptom, pain, or desire of the sick. 

While the above is true, in most cases the opinions of a thor- 
oughly trained physician must be sought before a positively cor- 
rect conclusion can be reached. 

Upon his ability to correctly diagnose disease depends much 
of the success of the medical practitioner. 

The treatment in every case, until the nature of the disease is 
known and understood, consists in relieving unpleasant symp- 
toms as they arise ; or, to use a more scientific expression, the 
treatment is conducted on general principles. If there is fever, 
refrigerants and cooling drinks are given; if there is pai*, 
anodynes are administered ; if there is restlessness, nervousness, 
or inability to sleep, nervines or hypnotics are called for ; indeed, 
modern medical practice is largely fashioned after this kind of 
dosing. Specific, radical, direct medication is rather the excep- 
tion. 

PAIN. 

Pain is the most constant and prominent symptom of ill health, 
and is always of great value in revealing the nature of disease. 

Pain may be dull or sharp, continuous or intermittent, slight 
or severe. It may be due to an almost limitless number of 
causes, and its character may differ and fluctuate between widely 
separated extremes. A dull pain is generally persistent and con- 
fined to one spot ; a sharp pain is apt to be spasmodic and change 
from place to place. The seat of the pain is not always the seat 
of the disorder. A deranged liver will cause pain in the right 
shoulder ; hip disease, pain in the knees ; or a disordered stomach 
may cause pain in the head. The character of the pain largely 
depends upon the nature of the structure involved. In diseases 
of the bone it is constant and boring ; in the mucous membranes 



PHYSICAL SIGNS OP DISEASE. 103 

it is dull ; in the serous membranes, as in pleurisy, it is sharp ; in 
the skin it is itching and burning ; in some portions of the body- 
it is sickening, and in the small, bony structures, as of the fingers, 
bones, and teeth, it is excruciating. 

Pain produced by pressure is called tenderness, and is usually 
the result of inflammation, the presence of some foreign material, 
or a deranged condition of the nerves of the parts. 

THE PULSE. 

The Pulse is caused by the throbbing or beating of the heart, 
and indicates the condition of the circulation. The most con- 
venient point at which to "feel the pulse" is just above the bones 
of the wrist, between the leaders in the center and the bone on 
the thumb side of the arm. By compressing with the ends of the 
three main fingers, the pulse can be readily felt. 

The number of beats per minute of the normal pulse is as fol- 
lows: Infants, 130; during the second year, 110; at eight years 
of age, 90 ; at fifteen years, 80 ; adult life, 65 to 75 ; old age, 55 to 
65. The pulse of women beats about 10 more per minute than 
that of men. The above figures, however, vary greatly in differ- 
ent individuals without any assignable cause. Some very healthy 
persons have a pulse beating 90 or more, and others, equally 
healthy, a pulse beating only 50 or less per minute. These facts 
are of value when the pulse is to be consulted for diagnostic pur- 
poses. 

The pulse is rapid in fevers, and rapid and strong in the early 
stages of inflammations. It is rapid during nervous excitement, 
and in great debility it becomes rapid and small. 

A slow pulse is met with in brain disorders, especially when 
there is pressure upon the brain substance. The pulse is also slow 
or sluggish in torpid liver and biliousness. 

An irregular pulse may result from heart disease, disorders of 
the brain, or derangements of the nervous system. The use of 
tobacco will sometimes cause an irregular pulse. A very rapid, 
small, faint pulse indicates great debility, and if it exceeds 150 
beats per minute death is probably near. 



104 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

The pulse is not depended upon in diagnosing diseases, as much 
as it was before the clinical thermometer came into use. At the 
present time the laity attach much more importance to it than 
physicians do ; but little knowledge can be gained from the con- 
dition of the pulse, except by association with other symptoms. 

THE TEMPERATURE. 

The use of the clinical thermometer in the practice of medi- 
cine is almost indispensable. No other indication of disease is so 
reliable as that made known by the application of the ther- 
mometer to the body. 

The normal temperature of the internal and sheltered parts of 
the body is 98.6° Fahr. The most convenient and appropriate 
places to test the temperature are under the tongue and in the 
arm pit. The instrument should remain in place, fully protected 
from the outside atmosphere, for at least five minutes, and the 
registry taken while it is yet in position, unless it is self-regis- 
tering. From seven to nine o'clock in the morning and about 
seven or somewhat earlier in the evening are the most appropriate 
hours of the day to test the temperature. In fever the tempera- 
ture ranges from 100° to 106°. When it goes above 107° death 
is likely to follow, though recovery may take place. 

THE SKIN. 

The Skin, in health, should be clear, florid, pliable, warm, and 
the secretions sufficient to lubricate its surface. 

It becomes hot and dry in fever ; pale during fainting, nervous 
excitement, sick stomach, and poverty of the blood ; flushed in 
fever, intoxication, and the early stages of apoplexy; yellow in 
jaundice and in yellow fever; sallow in dyspepsia, cancer, green 
sickness, malaria, and constipation ; muddy, opaque, and clammy 
in dyspepsia accompanied with constipation; livid in typhoid 
and typhus fever; blue in collapse; dark in suffocation and 
strangulation. 

The surface of the skin becomes cold when the superficial or 
capillary circulation is deficient. 



ABSCESS. 105 

THE TONGUE. 

The Tongue undergoes a variety of significant changes in 
disease. These changes affect its size, shape, color, secretions, 
coating, and movements. It is nervous in debility and exhaus- 
tion, one-sided in lateral paralysis, large and flabby in chronic 
dyspepsia, pale in anaemia, dry and parched in fevers, red in inflam- 
mations and scarlet fever, coated yellowish in liver disorders, and 
coated white or whitish in inflammatory diseases of the lungs, 
stomach, and bowels. 

It should be remembered that the tongue is more or less coated, 
even in health, as upon rising in the morning ; that such articles 
as milk or starchy substances will leave a whitish coating ; that 
decayed teeth, catarrh, and breathing through the mouth, as well 
as the use of tobacco, will change the secretions of the tongue ; 
and that the rough surface and irregular elevations on the back 
part of the tongue do not indicate disease or ill health. 



ABSCESS. 

An abscess is a collection of pus in any part of the body. A 
boil is a typical example. Abscesses may be acute or rapid in 
forming, or they may be chronic and of slow development ; they 
may be circumscribed, or the pus may be diffused into the sur- 
rounding tissues ; they may contain healthy pus, or their contents 
may be thin and sanious. 

"When very large, or when located in some vital organ, as the 
brain, lungs, kidneys, or liver, they are exceedingly serious in 
tlicir nature, and are accompanied with great constitutional dis- 
turbance. Their occurrence indicates a scrofulous taint or de- 
praved condition of the system. 

Treatment. — Sometimes an abscess may be aborted or mod- 
ified by applying belladonna ointment, tincture of iodine or a 
solution of lunar caustic — 30 grains to 1 ounce of water. Mild 
laxatives and restricted diet are in order. If pain and swelling 
continue it should be freely 'poulticed. An early incision or out- 



106 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

let made by a physician is advised in most cases, after which the 
parts are to be made thoroughly clean and antiseptic by using - a 
solution of bichloride or peroxide of hydrogen and dressed with 
petrolatum, iodoform gauze or other antiseptic dressing. A solu- 
tion of boric acid is a desirable wash. If an abscess is chronic 
and the patient anaemic, scrofulous or in poor health tonics — 
cod liver oil, iron, quinine and strychnia or syrup of hypophos- 
phites will prove useful. Pills of sulphide of calcium — J grain 
three times daily — are regarded as preventive and curative of 
abscesses and boils and should be used from the start. If the 
cause is traceable to any specific taint in the system the treatment 
should aim at its removal. 



ACIDITY OF THE STOMACH AND HEARTBURN. 

These two symptoms are due to the same causes, are often 
associated together, and are treated in the same manner. 

Cause. — This is not always apparent. They may arise from 
dyspepsia, constipation, over-eating, or taking into the stomach 
improper or unmasticated food. Rich, greasy, starchy foods, such 
as pastries, gravies, and concentrated dishes, are liable to provoke 
heartburn and acidity. 

Symptoms. — Heartburn, water-brash, eructations of sour food, 
which is at times so acrid as to set the teeth on edge and irritate 
the throat. There is generally a feeling of uneasiness in the 
stomach. The irritating gases arising from habitually sour 
stomachs no doubt have much to do with decayed teeth, sore 
throat, and chronic nasal catarrh ; and that they may produce 
an offensive breath is known to all. 

Treatment. — Any alkali will generally relieve it temporarily, 
and perhaps bicarbonate of soda is the best. One-third of a tea- 
spoonful dissolved in water should be sufficient. If there is 
headache and nervousness small doses of aromatic spirits of am- 
monia are to be preferred. Soda mints are very effectual. Charcoal 
tablets, to be found in every drug store, is the best remedy we have 
for these affections ; but charcoal in combination with magnesia, 
ginger, and other correctives is sometimes more effectual. 



ANEMIA. 107 

A cup of hot water will usually prevent it if taken before eating. 
A teaspoonful of glycerine taken immediately after eating tends 
to prevent acidity. Alkalies, such as soda, magnesia, and soda-mints, 
should never be taken habitually, as they impair the tone of the 
stomach. The cause of these symptoms should be sought and 
remedied. 

An acid taken before meals will often completely cure acidity 
of the stomach. Ten-drop doses of dilute muriatic acid, or of dilute 
phosphoric acid are either well calculated to relieve. It is important 
to remember that acids should be given before meals and alkalies 
after meals for acidity and heartburn. 

The general health should be improved, the bowels kept free, 
and acid-forming foods avoided. Much of the bakers' bread is, 
when fresh, just ready for additional fermentation as soon as it 
reaches the stomach. The food should be ample, but of a whole- 
some sort. 



ANAEMIA— Poverty of the Blood. 

Anaemia is a general term applied to diseases characterized by 
a deficiency in the amount of blood. It may consist of a lack of 
quantity or a deterioration of quality of the blood ; in either case 
there is a deficiency in the number of red blood corpuscles. 

Cause. — Loss of blood, as from injury or hemorrhage, will pro- 
duce anaemia; exhausting diseases, as malaria, consumption, 
chronic diarrhoea, or scrofula; disorders of the digestion, and 
especially of the blood-making organs ; excessive suckling, lack 
of food, want of fresh air, light, or warmth. Poorly fed and 
meanly clad persons are liable to it. Constipation will sometimes 
cause it; in fact, anything which tends to interfere with nutrition 
or the vital force tends to produce anaemia. 

Symptoms. — Anaemic persons are pale, and, as a rule, thin, 
flabby, weak, and easily fatigued. Many of the cases of " general 
debility " are simply cases of anaemia under another name. The 
action of the heart is weak, the circulation poor, and the extremi- 
ties cold. The tongue, gums, and eyes show a pallor characteristic 
of the disease. Palpitation of the heart is a frequent symptom. 



108 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Treatment. — Plenty of good food, fresh air, moderate exercise, 
freedom of mind, and tonic medicines. Milk, eggs, meats, fish, 
game, poultry, and wholesome bread may be mentioned, but 
diet cannot be prescribed nor regulated by rules. A good cook, 
proper articles of diet, moderate exercise, and a temperate life 
constitute a good regimen. 

Fresh air is imperative. A sojourn at the seashore in summer, 
baths with friction to the skin, out-of-door games that are not 
violent, should all be employed. Persons who are anaemic are 
weak, nervous, and, as a rule, not in condition to assimilate much 
medicine, so that the medicine used must be given experimentally, 
and in most instances it is best to depend upon small doses long 
continued. As iron is a natural constituent of the blood, we very 
properly turn to it as the remedy for anaemia. This is well, but 
unless iron agrees with the stomach it fails to benefit. Tincture 
of iron, ten drops in water after meals, is one of the best forms. 
Pills of carbonate of iron, commonly called "Bland's Pills," are an 
excellent combination. Pills of reduced iron (Quevenne's iron), 
three grains each, are, on account of not being constipating, well 
suited to most cases. Diahjzed iron may be tried. Where there is 
loss of appetite and debility, elixir of iron, quinine and strychnine 
(dose, a teaspoonful) is an elegant tonic preparation. Scrofulous 
children may be given syrup of iodide of iron. 

ADENOIDS. 

Adenoids are a disease of early childhood and consist of soft, 
spongy growths in the deep nasal passages or in the throat above 
the tonsils. They interfere with the breathing, and if allowed 
to remain may impair the development of the jaws and facial 
contour and to some extent interfere with mental activity. "When 
of long standing the mouth, nose and face assume a wheezy, fixed 
expression. 

Treatment. — Consists of their removal, and a capable phy- 
sician or surgeon should be employed in every case and his advice 
strictly obeyed. 



ANEURISM — ANGINA PECTORIS. 109 

ANEURISM. 

An Aneurism is an enlargement of an artery caused by a 
weakening and stretching of its coats, and may be of any 
shape or size. It is generally the result of a blow or an injury, 
a strain, or violent exercise, or it maybe caused by disease of 
the artery. 

Symptoms. — An Aneurism is always along the course of an 
artery. It is characterized by a lump or tumor, without any 
inflammation and little or no pain. It is compressible, but elastic, 
and always pulsates. By compressing the artery on the heart 
side of the tumor, the tumor will relax and the pulsation cease. 
When they are on the large arteries near the heart they interfere 
with breathing, swallowing, and the circulation of the blood, and 
prove serious difficulties. 

Treatment. — The treatment of Aneurism belongs to the 
domain of professional medicine and surgery. Persons so afflicted 
should take exercise of the most moderate kind, all excitement 
should be avoided, the general health should be carefully looked 
after, vomiting should be specially avoided, and at no time should 
over-eating be indulged in. Rest in the recumbent position two 
or three hours a day is strongly advised for those having 
aneurism. Persons having a large aneurism are likely to die at 
any moment, and this fact makes preparations for such a change 
important. Much depends upon the patient living a quiet, tem- 
perate, peaceful, and Christian life. 

Digitalis has been used for Aneurism, but it seems rank ignor- 
ance to use it. Rest in bed and large doses of iodide of potash, 
under the advice of a physician, may cure, and should always be 
tried. 

ANGINA PECTORIS. 

Angina Pectoris, known also as Neuralgia of the Heart, is not a 
common affection. 

Cause. — The cause is not known. It is sometimes called neu- 
ralgia of the heart, but it is not identical with neuralgic affections 
in other parts of the body. It is due, no doubt, to some morbid 



110 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

change in the tissues of the heart. Men are more subject to it 
than women, and gouty persons seem specially liable to it. 

Symptoms. — Angina Pectoris consists of recurring paroxysms 
of pain in the region of the heart, and extending from the lower 
end of the breast-bone to the left shoulder and arm. Attacks 
are more apt to appear while walking, and they last from a few 
moments to — rarely — an hour or more. The pain is intense, 
causing a feeling of suffocation, prostration, and alarm. It 
returns at irregular intervals ; sometimes many weeks may inter- 
vene between attacks. Life is always in danger during a parox- 
ysm, but a person may suffer frequent attacks and live many 
years. 

Treatment. — The general health should be well looked after; 
excitement should be avoided. John Hunter, a prominent physi- 
cian of early medical times, was subject to this disease, and it 
was a common expression with him to say : " My life is in the 
hands of any rascal who chooses to annoy and tease me," and 
sure enough one day he yielded to his ungovernable temper, and 
died in the induced paroxysm. 

Tonics, contentment of mind, fresh air, moderate exercise only, plain 
food, and temperate habits will be advantageous. 

Hoffmann's anodyne in teaspoonful doses, repeated if necessary, 
is one of the best remedies. 

Nitrite of amyl capsules, crushed in the handkerchief and 
inhaled, are extremely useful. They should be carried by those 
subject to this affection and used when necessary. 

Nitro-glycerine, which can be procured in pill form, is a stand- 
ard remedy. A mustard plaster over the heart will often relieve. 



APOPLEXY. 

Apoplexy, or " A stroke," as it is sometimes called, is a disease 
of the aged, but those young in years occasionally have it. 

Cause. — While it is possible for other causes to produce it, most 
cases of the disease are the result of hemorrhage within the cavity 
of the skull, causing pressure on the substance of the brain. 

The brain may become so congested that symptoms of apoplexy 



APPENDICITIS. Ill 

may appear without any real hemorrhage. With advancing years 
the walls of the blood-vessels of the brain become brittle and 
liable to rupture. It is one of the most common causes of death 
in persons over fifty years of age. Stout, short-necked people, 
who live sumptuously, are most liable to this disease. 

Symptoms. — It is sometimes preceded by headache, vertigo, 
giddiness, disturbed hearing and sight, but, as a rule, there is 
nothing to cause one to suspect an attack. 

There is sudden total loss of consciousness, the patient falls in 
a stupor, breathes heavily, the lips and cheeks napping with each 
breath. The pulse is slow and full. If consciousness returns 
there is numbness and inability to move a part of the body, gen- 
erally more decided on the left side. If the face is paralyzed the 
cheek is apt to be bitten in chewing food. The mind is often 
impaired. Recovery is sometimes rapid, but more often very 
slow. 

Treatment. — The treatment of apoplexy belongs pre-eminently 
to the physician. No time should be lost in securing his services, 
and his directions should be carefully followed. 

Bleeding is often resorted to, especially in robust persons. Mus- 
tard plasters to the limbs and back are required. Purgatives are 
necessar}*-. The head should be kept elevated, and if it be hot 
and the temples throbbing, cold cloths should be applied and 
renewed as soon as they become warm. If the hair is thick, it 
should be cut short. Hot water bottles and mustard plasters 
should be freely used about the feet and legs. The object of this 
treatment is to direct the blood from the brain to other parts of 
the body. Do not give stimulants. 

Those who are liable to apoplexy should avoid excitement and 
violent exercise of both body and mind, eat moderately, and forego 
stimulants entirely. 

APPENDICITIS. 

Appendicitis consists of Inflammation of the Vermiform Ap- 
pendix, an appendage attached to the large bowel in the lower, 
right side of the abdomen. 

It may be chronic and consist of a local catarrhal condition; it 



112 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

may occur in mild recurring attacks with little or no symptoms 
between, or it may occur in sudden inflammation or ulceration 
attended by severe pain, perhaps nausea and vomiting, rapid 
pulse, and more or less fever. While the pain may be diffused 
there is local tenderness in the right lower abdomen midway be- 
tween the navel and the prominent bone of the hip. The patient 
instinctively draws up the legs in bed to relax the muscles of the 
abdomen. It may begin suddenly or very slowly, it may be mild 
or violent ; it may last a few hours or many days. In advancing, 
serious cases there may be chills, rapid feeble pulse, swollen and 
drum-like belly, cold sweats and coldness and blueness of hands 
and feet. It is most common in persons between ten and thirty. 

Treatment. — The treatment of appendicitis belongs to the 
physician and surgeon. In mild cases, especially of the recurrent 
form, absolute rest in bed, an ice bag to the part, total abstinence 
from food and warm injection may be all that is necessary. Some- 
times a dose of epsom salts or citrate of magnesia is admissible. 

The more serious cases may be divided into two classes: 1. 
Those which threaten life and require immediate action. 2. 
Those which do not threaten life. The first class, as a rule, re- 
quires an operation as soon as possible, and the best available 
surgical skill should be secured without delay. An experienced 
surgeon is always to be preferred, but delay is not wise in the 
worst cases. When life is not in peril it is, as a rule, best to treat 
the atack without operating, and when the patient has recovered 
have the appendix removed if future attacks are likely. The 
death rate when done during attacks is quite considerable, while 
it is almost nil when performed in the interim. Perhaps more 
interest, study and skill have been accorded to the operation for 
appendicitis than any other surgical disease. Hundreds of lives 
are annually saved and the death rate where perforation of the 
bowel has not taken place is exceedingly small. The surprising 
fact is, that until about 25 years ago no operation of this kind 
had been performed and the word appendicitis had not even been 
thought of. I believe that more people, than usually supposed, 
have chronic catarrhal or congested conditions in the region of 
the appendix, due to indigestion, constipation and flatulence, and 
suffer more or less pain and tenderness of the parts, and which 



ASTHMA. 113 

goes on indefinitely without any effect upon the general health. 
Therefore people should not get frightened at mild pain in this 
region. Persons subject to mild attacks can do much to prevent 
them by attention to the diet, moderate living and careful regu- 
lation of the bowels. 

ASTHMA. 

Asthma is characterized by a spasmodic difficulty of breathing, 
recurring at irregular intervals. It is a disease of the bronchial 
tubes, and the nervous system takes an active part in the peculiar 
phenomena which its symptoms exhibit. 

Cause. — The causes of asthma are various. Some persons 
inherit a predisposition to it, others contract it without any 
apparent reason ; a few persons seem to have it only on certain 
occasions, as when in the presence of feathers, horses, ipecac, or 
during a fit of indigestion. 

About as definite a statement as we have of the causes of 
asthma is that of the medical teacher who said : " All asthmatics 
have asthma, and they have it because they have it." Many of 
the anomalies of medicine are furnished in connection with this 
disease. The cause is sometimes exceedingly obscure. 

Symptoms. — Suddenly, and without apparent reason, the patient 
finds great difficulty in breathing. The face is fixed, the coun- 
tenance anxious and often alarming. Fresh air is sought, and 
there is a struggle for breath. The wheezing, however, is the most 
characteristic symptom. Those who experience or witness a 
paroxysm of asthma, for the first time, cannot but feel alarmed, 
the agony of the patient is so intense. A paroxysm may last but 
a few moments, a few hours, or it may be almost continuous for 
years. The only amelioration in some cases is a threatening 
subjection of the symptoms for the time being. 

Treatment. — In considering the treatment of asthma it should 
be borne in mind that medicine cures very few cases. A change 
of climate, or avoiding the exciting cause, when such is known, 
may keep it in subjection for any length of time, but the asth- 
matic tendencies remain, and will assert themselves when the 
exciting causes are encountered. It has been well said that 
" Asthma never kills anybody and the patient never gets well." 



114 # DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

This assertion is not far from true. There are a great many 
"asthma cures" on the market, but after selling many of them 
for years, I am thoroughly convinced that the genuine cures are 
exceedingly rare. I cannot recall a single instance where relief 
was more than temporary. I have in mind now a gentleman 
who has been buying a certain asthma cure at my store for seven 
or eight years, and he has the disease as badly now as when he 
began to take the medicine ; yet he believes that it is an extraor- 
dinary remedy, and some time ago wrote a " testimonial " praising 
the curative powers of the article. It simply gives temporary 
relief, that is all. 

The treatment may be divided into three divisions : — 

1. Of the disease. 

2. Of the paroxysm. 

3. Preventive. 

(1) I know of no medicine which is curative of asthma. When 
it seems to be a symptom of some morbid condition of the 
system the treatment is made plain. Sometimes, especially in 
rheumatic and gouty subjects, iodide of potash is very beneficial. 
Each individual asthmatic should carefully study his own case, 
and, if possible, ascertain upon what his malady depends. 
Having done this, immunity from it lies in avoiding the ex- 
citing cause at all times. 

(2) The treatment of the paroxysm requires active measures. 
The most satisfactory treatment has been by fumigation. 

There is no danger of the patient dying from a paroxysm of 
asthma, so do not get alarmed. 

The following fumigator, which I have compounded and 
sold for years, has served an excellent purpose in my hands. 
Any druggist can prepare it : — 



A— 114. 

Belladonna leaves, 2 ounces. 

Stramonium leaves, 2 ounces. 

Lobelia herb, 2 ounces. 

Saltpetre, 2 ounces. 

Mix and grind in a mill or mortar until it is a coarse powder. It is to 
be burned and the smoke inhaled during asthmatic paroxysm. 



BEDSORES. 115 



BERI-BERI 



Beri-beri or "Weak Legs" is an infectious disease occurring 
in epidemics, on ships, in prisons, armies and crowded unsanitary- 
cities, especially in damp warm climates. A diet of polished rice 
is said to promote it, and it is most common among young male 
adults. 

Symptoms. — It involves both nerves and muscular tissues. 
Fever, muscular wasting and weakness, nerve tenderness, pain, 
disturbed stomach, palpitation and dropsy. 

Treatment. — A change of location, enforced sanitary meas- 
ures, nutritious but not bulky diet — eggs, milk, beans, wheat bread 
and meats in moderation. Medical treatment as symptoms in- 
dicate. Bed rooms as far from ground as possible is advised. 
Watercress is said to have a curative effect. 



BEDSORES. 

Bedsores are the result of long-continued pressure to a part, 
especially when the vitality is impaired. They are generally 
found on projecting parts of the body during long confinement 
in bed, as in typhoid fever, injuries, paralysis, etc. They develop 
sometimes with great rapidity, and are always serious complica- 
tions. 

They should be anticipated during long-continued confinement 
in bed, and, if possible, prevented. The bed-clothes should be 
kept free from wrinkles, the patient kept dry, and his position 
changed as frequently as practicable. The prominent portions of 
the body should be washed with alcohol, bay rum, whiskey, a strong 
solution of alum, tannic acid, or painted over with tincture of 
iodine, diluted with two or three times as much alcohol. Any of 
these should be used two or three times a day, the parts 
thoroughly dried and dusted with starch or powdered oxide of 
zinc. 

A piece of adhesive plaster was formerly applied over a threaten- 
ing bedsore, but it is so apt to wrinkle that it may do more harm 



116 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

than good. If a sore seems inevitable, a ring air-cushion should be 
placed under the patient, or some other device be used to protect 
the parts from contact. 

The following is an excellent application : — 

A— 116. 

Powdered alum, £ ounce 

Whites of four eggs, 

Spirits of camphor, 2 ounces. 

Thoroughly mix and apply. 

When the sore is broken, the skill of the physician is often 
baffled. Air-dried linen, unstarched and unironed, is softer than 
that which has been laundried. Powdered bismuth is a good 
application to bedsores. 

BILIOUSNESS. 

There is a characteristic and disordered condition which adver- 
tising medicine men have so often described under the name of 
" biliousness," that the laity, at least, recognize it as a distinct 
disease. Most every one has experienced it, and it consists of a 
peculiar attack of indigestion or Acute Dyspepsia. 

Cause. — Over-eating, eating at improper hours, especially 
at night; eating indigestible food ; constipation, disturbed mind, 
malaria, cold, etc. Some persons are constitutionally bilious. 

Symptoms. — Dull headache, confusion of mind, indisposition 
to move, " that tired feeling," arms and legs feel heavy, tongue furred, 
water brash, a bad taste in the mouth, and sometimes the mouth 
is dry ; occasional belching of sour bile, pain in shoulders, slow 
pulse, sleepiness, stupidity, eyes yellow and dull, hands yellowish 
red, mottled, and cold ; press the back of the patient's hand with 
the fingers and a yellow outline will result; feet cold and damp, 
bowels constipated, temper irritable ; the patient is apt to have the 
" blues," and business affairs are apt to be viewed inauspiciously. 

Treatment. — Nine cases out of ten are due to indiscretion in 
diet ; much can be done, therefore, by those who are prone to 
biliousness, by carefully studying their own case and foregoing 
those things which are known to disagree with the digestion. 



BLACK HEADS. 117 

We know it is difficult to curb the appetite, but those who are 
subject to sore throat, headache, or colic, use precautions, and why- 
should not the bilious ? The best treatment consists of taking a 
saline laxative — a seidlitz powder or citrate of magnesia — at the 
approach of the first symptoms. This will often dispel the attack 
at once. 

Fasting for a day or longer and drinking water freely is an 
excellent plan to adopt. While this is exceedingly practical treat- 
ment, I am aware that but few persons will submit to it. Immediate 
relief is sought, and strong cathartics, such as compound cathartic 
pills, calomel, and blue mass are too often taken. One grain of 
calomel, followed in a few hours by a seidlitz powder, will often 
act like magic. If blue mass is chosen, from three to five 
grains should be taken. If there is sick headache in connection 
with the complaint, or nausea and vomiting, forty grains of 
powdered ipecac and free draughts of warm water will, by empty- 
ing the stomach, often bring quick relief. Avoid all preparations 
of opium, morphia, and caffeine for the headache of biliousness. 

After the acute symptoms have subsided the diet should be 
plain and rather light, the bowels should be regulated, and an 
occasional compound cathartic pill taken at bed-time will prove a 
preventive. Laxative mineral waters, such as Hunyadi, are 
highly beneficial, and acid fruits, especially if eaten before break- 
fast, are decidedly " anti-bilious." A teaspoonful of phosphate of 
soda, taken every morning in a glass of warm water, will be 
found extremely useful where there is a tendency to constipation. 

Two drops of tincture of nux vomica, three times a day, is often 
very appropriate. 

BLACK HEADS. 

The small black points occurring on the faces of young people 
are not worms, as some suppose, but accumulations which form 
in the pores of the skin. The outer surface turns dark from con- 
tact with the air, and when pressed out they resemble small 
worms very much. Their presence evidences a disordered condi- 
tion of the secretions, and an improvement of the general health 
by regulating the diet, the use of mild laxatives, and special 



118 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

attention to the action of the skin, will usually cause them to dis- 
appear. 

The parts may be covered with the following ointment at 
night, and in old standing cases during the day also. After 
several days the comedones or black heads can be easily expressed, 
most of them coming out on washing the parts with pumice 
stone soap : — 

A— 118. 

China clay or kaolin, 4 drachms 

Glycerine, 3 drachms 

Acetic acid, 2 drachms. 

Perfume to please. 

Or the following may be applied twice a day : — 
B-118. 

Ether, 1 fluidounce 

Carbonate of ammonia, 20 grains 

Water to make 2 fluidounces. 

Or— 

C— 118. 

Dilute alcohol, 1 ounce 

Resorcin, 5 grains 

Salicylic acid, 25 grains. 

Mix. — Apply every night with a sponge. 



DISEASES OF THE BLADDER. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

This disease, also known as Cystitis, may be acute or chronic. 

Cause. — External injuries, the presence of gravel or stone, 
venereal disease of the genital organs, irritating medicines, or 
improper injections. 

Symptoms. — Pain and tenderness in and over the region of the 
bladder, a constant inclination to pass water, and a feeling as if 
a desire to force out the contents of the bladder ; a scalding sen- 
sation. There may be fever, intermittent with chilly sensations. 

If the disease is severe, nausea, vomiting, cold sweats, and 
delirium may supervene. The urine is apt to be offensive and 
mixed with pus and blood. 



DISEASES OF THE BLADDER. 119 

The chronic form of the disease is attended with similar, but 
less severe, symptoms. The pain and suffering is often intense. 

Treatment. — Absolute rest in bed is imperative. Local blood- 
letting, either by leeches or cups. A cathartic of castor oil, warm hip 
baths, or fomentations, and large draughts of flaxseed tea are all to 
be used. 

Suppositories containing opium and belladonna afford marked 
relief. Laudanum may be used in enema in their stead. 

Chronic Inflammation of the Bladder calls for the free use of 
demulcent drinks, such as flaxseed and elm-bark tea, gum Arabic, 
and barley water. Mild diuretics, such as buchu, pipsissewa, uva ursi, 
sweet spirits of nitre, tincture of iron, or, what is better, Basham's 
mixture, are all useful. The urine should be kept neutral by the 
use of proper alkalies, the best of which is bicarbonate of soda. 
The food, both as regards eating and drinking, should be entirely 
non-stimulating. 

Injections into the bladder should never be undertaken except 
by a physician. I know that friendly and quack interference 
sometimes makes such a venture, but it is an extremely hazard- 
ous procedure. 

CATARRH OF AND IRRITATION OF THE BLADDER. 

The lining membrane of the bladder and of the urethra is occa- 
sionally the seat of a chronic catarrhal condition ; it is more often, 
however, the seat of an over-sensitive nervous condition which 
provokes irritation. People often become hyper-sensitive, and 
imagine they have urinary troubles when such do not exist. 
When the bowels vary in their action from a normal standard it 
occasions no alarm, but if the attention is, by the most trivial 
symptom, directed to the urinary apparatus there is a tendency 
to attach importance to the difficulty. Few men are so healthy 
but that, if they become concerned in regard to these organs, they 
will notice the least deposit, the least off color, the most trifling 
sensation, or a noticeable change in quantity, when perhaps such 
is only a legitimate condition, dependent upon diet, exercise, and 
the action of the skin. There are persons who seem to have a 
chronic, morbid oversight of the discharge of urine, and who are 



120 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

continually taking medicines which act on the kidneys. Men who 
in early life were victims of venereal poison are in after years apt 
to regard any discrepancies of these organs with special apprehen- 
sions. The quack thrives on such victims. The advertisements 
in regard to this subject, which flood the country, plainly show 
that such individuals are in a state of mind burdened with con- 
cern. Since morning, a pamphlet has come into my hands of an 
advertising charlatan, and it is astonishing how he weaves the 
strands of his net out of the sins of mankind, and through its 
meshes holds out the bait, veneered with promises, hope, and 
goody-goody quotations. 

These cases of irritation are attended with a frequent desire to 
urinate, the act being attended with more or less irritation, which 
is specially noticeable at the completion of the flow. 

Treatment. — Water should be freely drank. Mucilaginous 
drinks are quite palliative. If there is anaemia or debility, tinc- 
ture of iron or Basham's mixture will benefit. Infusion uva ursi, 
buchu, cough grass, and hydrangea are all recommended and often 
afford happy results. Balsam copaiba and turpentine, in small 
doses, are standard remedies. 

Eucalyptus oil, three drops on sugar three or four times a day, 
is one of the best things that can be used. The urine should 
not be allowed to become too strongly acid or alkali. Best of 
all — dismiss the subject from the mind and live a pure, temperate 
life. 

STONE IN THE BLADDER. 

This occurrence, called by the profession " Urinary Calculi," is 
not frequent in this country, being much more prevalent in 
certain parts of Europe. 

Cause. — Climate, habits, food, drink, occupation, age, and 
various diseases and malformations of the bladder, all may favor 
the growth of stone. When a sufficient number of cases are 
tabulated, all these things, in a more or less definite way, seem to 
exercise an influence. It is most common in those under twenty 
or over fifty years of age. 

It occurs sometimes in very young children, a circumstance 
unlooked for, yet more than one-half of the cases are among per- 



DISEASES OP THE BLADDER.. 121 

sons less than twenty years of age. Children have been known 
to have calculi at the time of birth. Between the ages of twenty 
and fifty it seldom occurs. Gout and rheumatism, of the inherited 
sorts, seem to favor it. 

Symptoms. — Pain in making water, especially when the last few 
drops are being voided, a sense of uneasiness in the parts, frequent 
desire to urinate, pain and itching along the urinary tract ; and 
the urine is often bloody. A sudden stoppage of the urine during 
its flow is a very significant symptom. When occurring in chil- 
dren the general health, as a rule, suffers but little, but later in 
life it usually impairs the health, and if relief is not afforded a 
general breaking down of the system may be expected. An 
exploration by a physician is the only infallible test. 

Treatment. — The removal of stone in the bladder by a surgical 
operation is always advisable. No operation in surgery has 
reached a greater degree of perfection than lithotomy, or removing 
stone in the bladder. When death follows the operation it is gen- 
erally due to the fact that the stone has been allowed to remain 
so long that the irritation has caused such thickening, contraction, 
and destruction to the tissues of the bladder, that this organ fails 
to continue its function and admit of repair. 

Much can be done to secure comfort by confining the diet to 
plain, wholesome, non-irritating food. Alcoholic liquors, coffee, acid 
fruits, and pastries are to be eschewed. Only moderate exercise 
should be taken, warm woolen clothing should be worn, and all 
drinking water should be discarded, except pure soft water, which 
should be freely drank. The urine should not be allowed to 
become very acid nor strongly alkaline, but kept as near neutral 
as possible. When the urine is too acid, it is usually rendered less 
acid or neutral by the use of bicarbonate of soda, and when it is 
alkaline it is rendered acid by the use of some mineral acid. 
When there is special irritation, with rank, high-colored urine, 
twenty grains of soda in a cup of hop tea, taken about one hour 
after meals, will be found very soothing. If there is no pain, 
buchu, uva ursi, or pipsissewa may be used instead of the hops. 

Various mineral waters are lauded as solvents of stone, and 
some of them are, no doubt, useful; more, however, as a pre- 



122 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

ventive than as a cure. The Buffalo Lithia and the imported 
Vichy, Friedrichshall, and Carlsbad are perhaps the best. Fluid 
extract of hydrangea, one teaspoonful in a glass of warm water, 
three or four times a day, possesses a reputation as a remedy for 
stone in the bladder. 

It must not be forgotten that there are several varieties of stone, 
consisting of different chemical composition, due to different 
influences, and, of course, calling for widely different lines of 
treatment from the physician. To ascertain beyond a doubt that 
a stone exists, to measure its dimensions, analyze its chemical 
make-up, and prescribe the proper solvents, if it be susceptible to 
such treatment, or, if not, to secure such surgical aid as will bring 
a happy delivery and complete recovery, and so advise that future 
formations will not occur, is a well-wrought function of medical 
science, and the physician who will intelligently and earnestly 
carry it out is a philanthropist and should be appreciated. Such 
practice calls for loyal and faithful obedience to well-defined 
hygienic and medical directions. One physician must do it. The 
man who migrates from one doctor to another will only become 
worn out and drift beyond the point of repair. As before inti- 
mated, there is a number of varieties of these formations, which 
are named according to their chemical composition or appearance. 

The uric acid calculi are the most common form. They are 
somewhat rough, often quite large, and are usually formed in 
urine that is distinctly acid in its nature. 

The mulberry or oxalate of lime is next in frequency, and espe- 
cially is this true in regard to children. These vary much in 
size, shape, and color. Sometimes they are very rough, and as 
they begin their formation in the kidneys, the passage of the 
small, rough particles from the kidney to the bladder gives rise to 
renal colic of an intense and agonizing sort. 

Phosphatic calculi come next in order, and there are three divi- 
sions of this variety, differing somewhat in their chemical base. 

Phosphatic deposits originate chiefly in the bladder and are the 
result of catarrhal conditions of the organ, ammoniacal urine, etc. 
They are perhaps the most apt of any to yield to the influence of 
solvents. 



THE BLOOD. 123 

Those who are afflicted with stone in the bladder should lose 
no time experimenting with quacks, who will request a sample 
of urine and submit a lot of questions to be answered. They do 
this to interest the patient, not themselves. I would advise all 
who can so arrange to go to some reliable hospital, submit to an 
operation, and remain there until convalescence is complete. It 
is not a dangerous operation when performed in the early stages 
of the disease, and recovery is always to be looked for. The late 
Professor Gross operated on over eighty children with this affec- 
tion, and only one operation proved fatal. In adults the mortality 
is somewhat greater. The longer the operation is postponed the 
more serious does it become. 



THE BLOOD. 

" The life of the flesh is the blood," said the Hebrew Lawgiver, 
and physiologists have fully demonstrated the truth of his words. 
The blood contains all the elements, both proximate and ultimate, 
of the human body. Its office is to convey to the tissues the 
nutriment which supports life, and to convey from the tissues to 
the excretory organs the waste and effete material as it accumu- 
lates from the wear and tear of the processes essential to life. 

At the present day the laity, through the medium of advertise- 
ments, have the subject of the blood brought prominently to 
their notice. Almost every disease, according to the theory of the 
charlatan, has its origin in the blood. This is an attractive 
theory ; indeed, the logic is, in the main, true ; but there are many 
plausible theories which cannot be turned to real, practical 
account, and the theory that impure blood is the cause of all 
disease is one of them. Take, for instance, the principal blood 
disease, anaemia, or poverty of the blood. It is not necessary 
that the blood should be impure ; indeed, it may be of excellent 
quality, only there is not enough of it. Plethora is exactly the 
opposite of anaemia, and sometimes amounts to a disease; but 
the blood is not diseased, it is generally of exceptionally good 
quality. Even when some foreign substance is in the blood it 
shows that some part of the body is diseased, and the blood — the 



124 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

function of which is to convey materials — is simply transporting 
the morbid material from one place to another, perhaps to some 
excretory organ to be eliminated from the body. In such pro- 
cesses the blood may retain its integrity. It is its office to carry 
such materials. The presence of morbid materials shows that 
there is disease somewhere ; but to call such " blood diseases " is 
not correct. When a man has gout there is in the blood an 
excess of uric acid, in rheumatism perhaps an excess of lactic 
acid, in malaria an excess of pigment, in jaundice an excess of 
bile, in Bright's disease an excess of urea, in diabetes an excess 
of sugar. These may all be classed as " blood diseases," yet they 
are all characterized by phenomena which have special relation 
to the individual poison, and the treatment must always be varied 
according to the nature of the morbid product. When it is said 
that a person's blood is " out of order," or " impure," the expres- 
sion is extremely vague. A great deal, in fact the most, of the 
advertising about "impure blood" and "blood purifiers" is 
meaningless. 

BOILS. 

A boil is a hard, circumscribed, painful tumor, having its seat 
in the under texture of, and below, the skin. Its growth is 
gradual, becomes pointed, white or yellow, and when ripe 
discharges pus mixed with blood. It contains a core which 
is finally discharged, and the healing process begins, the inflam- 
mation and swelling subside, and a slightly indented scar 
remains. 

Cause. — Boils are an indication of enfeebled health, impaired 
digestion, or derangement of the secretions. They are more apt 
to attack young people, and are most common on the face, nape 
of the neck, buttocks, and fingers. 

Treatment. — Many things have been recommended to " back " 
boils, but I have very little faith in any remedy so far named. 
Painting the parts with iodine, collodion, or a solution of nitrate of 
silver (twenty grains to an ounce of water) all have their advocates. 
Freely applying tincture of lobelia is also lauded by some. Hot 
water, continuously applied, is said to dispel them if used early, 



DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD. 125 

and the same statement applies to turpentine. A brisk purge will 
modify their force. A boil should be liberally poulticed and an 
early outlet of the contents made. Laudanum applied to the face 
of the poultice will lessen the pain. When thoroughly emptied 
of its contents, it should be dressed with vaseline or simple cerate. 
Should the healing process be slow, tonics and mild laxatives will 
prove beneficial. 

A blind boil is deeper seated than the ordinary variety and 
much more indolent, but the treatment is practically the same ; 
Che object to be gained is to hasten and facilitate the discharge of 
its contents and promote the healing process. 

Those who are subject to boils should endeavor to find out the 
cause, and whether it be the digestion, a scrofulous taint, an 
enfeebled constitution, or other morbid conditions, appropriate 
remedies should be administered. Some people think that it is a 
good sign to have boils, and that " every boil is worth five 
dollars " is a common expression, yet they are not always bene- 
ficial to the health. 

Sulphide of calcium, dose one-fourth to one-half grain in pills, sev- 
eral times a day, has been much lauded for those subject to boils. 

The sulphurous mineral waters are beneficial. 

Quinine, iron, arsenic, and cod-liver oil are indicated for the weak 
and debilitated. 

Iodide of potash seldom fails to benefit. 

Phosphate of soda, one teaspoonful in a tumbler of water, two 
or three times a day, is excellent to purify the system against. 
boils. "Elixir Iodo-Bromide Calcium, Compound" is an effective! 
blood purifier and alterative, and is recommended. 



DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD. 

The brain and spinal cord are essentially one organ. Together 
they form the most highly organized, and if possible the most im- 
portant portion of the human body. Their offices, functions and 
actions are all so important, numerous and complex that but few 
ailments exist without the brain or spinal cord, in some way, 
becoming involved in the derangement. The study of the brain 



126 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

and the spinal cord in health and disease is so technical and com- 
prehensive, that it has very properly become a special branch of 
medical research and practice. The brain is the seat of the mind, 
and is concerned in all mental derangements ; yet the phenom- 
ena of the mind are so intricate that their study requires definite 
consideration and its derangements form still another branch of 
medical study. The brain also controls the nerves of the special 
senses, seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and those extremely 
complex divisions of the nervous system which are concerned in 
motion and sensation. Here also is the seat of life. Thought, 
memory, desire, hope, joy, ambition, love, sentiment, disappoint- 
ment, discouragement, hate, anger, remorse, melancholy, and 
despair are all operations of the human mind. 

Mental disturbances exert a marked influence on the bodily 
functions, and, in turn, the condition of the bodily health exer- 
cises a strong influence over the brain and nervous system, and 
every physician knows how these sympathies often aggravate and 
prolong disease. Simple pressure upon the brain tissues often 
gives rise to serious and alarming conditions; indeed, the pro- 
nounced and alarming symptoms of apoplexy, meningitis, con- 
gestion and many other diseases, are simply due to the pressure 
which takes place upon the brain substance. In the same man- 
ner tumors within the cavity of the skull sometimes cause 
epilepsy. 

CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN AND SPI- 
NAL CORD AND OF THE MEMBRANES COVERING 
THEM-CEREBRAL MENINGITIS, SPINAL 
MENINGITIS AND CEREBRO- 
SPINAL MENINGITIS. 

The brain and spinal cord are subject to congestion and inflam- 
mation, but not so frequently, however, as the membranes which 
envelop them. These coverings are called meninges, and when 
the covering of the brain alone is involved it is known as cerebral 
meningitis ; when of the spinal cord, spinal meningitis, and when 
both are involved it constitutes what is called cerebrospinal men- 
ingitis. 

Cause. — These tissues may become the seat of inflammation at 



DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD. 127 

any age, and may result from injuries to the skull, exposure to the 
sun's rays, great excitement, or the extension to the brain of in- 
flammatory diseases, such as erysipelas, scarlet fever, carbuncles, 
inflammation of the ear, etc. 

Symptoms. — Headache, flushed face, congested eyes, heat of the 
head, disturbed mind, constipated bowels, nausea and vomiting, 
are among the symptoms which mark inflammation within the 
cavity of the skull. The patient is sensitive of light, nervous, and 
is easily disturbed by noises. The pulse is strong, full and rapid. 
In severe or advanced cases the headache is very violent, and the 
symptoms all become more severe, the pupils contract, but finally 
dilate, delirium is followed by stupor, the hearing and other senses 
are more or less blunted, the breathing is deep and sonorous. 
The urine is sometimes retained and must be drawn off, the coun- 
tenance becomes sunken, the pulse becomes feeble and profound 
insensibility ensues. The disease may last only a few days, or it 
may be prolonged for several weeks. 

Children are much more liable to brain complications, especially 
in the course of acute troubles during dentition, than adults. Dur- 
ing acute diseases, especially bowel complaints, symptoms which 
indicate brain trouble should be carefully noted. If a sick child 
becomes feeble, listless, ceases to sit up, frequently raises the hands 
to the head, cries painfully, bores and rolls the head in the pillow, 
is irritated by noise or light, the eyes becoming red, the pupils 
contracted or dilated, the blood vessels of the head and neck 
throbbing, and there is drowsiness and inability to sleep, or only 
part of these symptoms, the physician should at once be notified, 
as it indicates that there is more or less inflammation of the brain, 
and it needs prompt attention. 

Congestion or inflammation of the spinal cord, or more often 
of its membranes, gives rise to a great variety of symptoms, 
affecting motion, sensation and nutrition. Sometimes these con- 
ditions are chronic in their nature, and are influenced largely by 
the state of the general health and atmospheric changes. When 
the posterior portion of the cord is affected, the nerves of sensa- 
tion are deranged, and where the disease is confined to the 



128 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

anterior portion of the cord, the nerves of motion are more or 
less implicated. 

Treatment. — The management of brain and spinal affections 
of every sort belongs to the province of the educated physician 
alone. When inflammatory action is going on, it should be 
remembered that it is attended with a corresponding rise in the tem- 
perature and increase of the blood supply of the brain. The object 
of treatment should be to reduce the heat, and drive the blood 
supply elsewhere. The best means at hand are to apply cold to 
the head and heat to the extremities. If the head is very hot, 
thin cloths should be dipped in ice-water and applied to the head, 
and renewed as necessary. 

It is a good plan to cut the hair close or shave the head. 
This not only relieves the head, but the future growth of the hair 
will be benefited thereby. At the same time heat or counter- 
irritation, such as mustard plasters to the feet and limbs, will aid 
in relieving the head. Local blood-letting should be encouraged. 
Purgatives are almost indispensable in brain diseases of this 
kind. The food should be liquid and non-stimulating. Bromide 
of potash relieves the blood pressure of the brain, and fluid extract 
of ergot, by contracting the blood vessels, also lessens the blood 
supply. 

The patient should be placed in a dark room and have absolute 
rest and quiet in bed. Blisters are to be resorted to when other 
means fail. No time should be lost in securing the services of a 
physician in all brain affections. 

EPIDEMIC CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS 

An infectious communicative disease involving the membranes 
and deeper structures of the brain and spinal cord. It is due 
to the presence of micro-organisms and occurs in epidemics. Un- 
sanitary conditions and impaired vitality promote its spread. It 
is most prevalent in temperate or northern climates and most com- 
mon among children and young adults. 

Symptoms. — It often rapidly develops, and death may follow 
a short period of lassitude, pains in the head, spine, muscles and 



DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD. 129 

joints, nausea, delirium, sometimes convulsions and extremely 
high temperature. The patient is often extremely sensitive to 
light and noise. Recovery is generally slow. 

Treatment. — Isolation in quiet, darkened room, disinfecting 
all expectoration and discharges, including the urine. Generous 
diet, milk, eggs, toast, rice, etc. Stimulants are sometimes in- 
dicated, also ice bags to the head and spine. The directions of the 
attending physician should be strictly followed. Convalescence 
should be promoted by the use of iron, cod-liver oil and other 
tonics and the most favorable hygienic measures. 

Like all diseases occurring in epidemics the utmost care should 
be exercised to prevent its spread, especially in thickly settled 
localities. Timely and well-ordered co-operation between the peo- 
ple and Boards of Health can usually confine such diseases to very 
narrow limits. 

SOFTENING OF THE BRAIN. 

This is a term often used but seldom understood by the people. 
Indeed, I believe the profession would drop it as a special disease 
were it not for its applied significance in popular vernacular. 
There is, however, a softening of the brain and the term may be 
correctly applied, but the softening of common language embraces 
a variety of brain and mental derangements largely referable to 
the condition of the mind. 

Symptoms. — Popularly it refers to failure of the memory, loss 
of the powers of concentration, mental depression and deteriora- 
tion, slight insanity, dementia, the mental decrepitude of the 
aged, etc. These symptoms may also accompany hardening of 
the brain, sclerosis, or other changes in its tissues, anaemia, growths 
within the skull, or mental derangements of a functional char- 
acter. 

Treatment. — Nothing can be done for genuine softening, but 
much can be done to remove what is often called such. When a 
person shows signs of mental impairment, an intelligent co-ope- 
ration with professional advice will often bring order and reason 
out of what might otherwise be worse than chaos. 
9 



130 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 



BAD BREATH. 



There are few subjects of greater importance than the breath. 
To have a bad breath is indeed a great misfortune. Thousands 
of persons who would make engaging companions are rendered 
almost intolerable by their offensive breath. It sometimes 
estranges lovers and robs conjugal life of much of its happiness. 
It is the duty and privilege of every one to have a sweet breath. 
Persons are low in the scale of social ethics who are willing to 
poison the atmosphere and disgust those with whom they associ- 
ate by neglecting the care of the breath. 

Cause. — Bad breath may result from the condition of the lungs, 
the stomach, the teeth, the nose, or the throat. When the lungs 
are the seat of the trouble, the breath has a sweetish, sickening 
odor ; when from the stomach, it somewhat resembles rotten eggs ; 
when from the teeth, it is putrid, like decaying flesh ; when from 
the nose, it is rank and sickening. The odor of tobacco is well 
known. Sometimes people seem to have a bad breath constitu- 
tionally, and some cases are extremely offensive and difficult to 
cure. 

Treatment. — It is not improper to consult the family physician 
in regard to a bad breath. If he can tell whence it comes and 
what will remedy it, he is a philanthropist and should be well 
paid. If it is from the lungs, but little can be done. Inhalations 
of creosote ; cachous, or such remedies as a physician will suggest, 
often prove efficacious. 

If caused by the teeth, a dentist should be consulted and the 
teeth cleansed, filled or extracted, and the gums and mouth kept 
scrupulously clean. When the stomach is at fault, the diet should 
be restricted, the bowels regulated, and a watchful oversight kept 
of the general health. If catarrh or ozaena is the cause, it will 
require skill, patience, and industry to overcome it. But it can 
be done, so do not be discouraged. 

A— 130.— MOUTH WASH FOR BAD BREATH. 

Permanganate of potash, 12 grains 

Rose water, 2 onnces 

Water, 6 ounces. 



BAD BREATH. 131 

The above used as a mouth wash two or three times a day will 
generally be found useful. The following also is an excellent 

A— 131.— MOUTH WASH. 

Chlorate of potash, J ounce 

Eose water, 2 ounces 

Water, 6 ounces. 

Mix. — Use three times daily. 

Chlorate of potash tablets are very cleansing and purifying to the 
mouth, gums, and teeth, and often relieve offensive breath better 
than anything else. The use of the nasal douche is often 
required when the nasal cavity is diseased. The following mix- 
ture will be found useful in arresting the odor when due to ozaena 
or offensive catarrh : — 

B— 131.— NASAL DOUCHE SOLUTION. 

Borax, \ ounce 

Common salt, f ounce 

Permanganate of potash, \ ounce 

Water, | pint. 

Mix and dissolve. 

One tablespoonful of this mixture in a pint of tepid water 
should be used once or twice a day as a douche. 

The catarrh must be cured, however, before any permanent 
benefit can be expected. 

Charcoal when taken into the stomach acts as a powerful 
corrective, and lozenges made of it are very useful when the odor 
is due to derangement of that organ. A draught containing twenty 
grains of bisulphite of soda, drank twice daily, will serve a good 
purpose. 

Perhaps the most offensive breath is the result of the use of 
tobacco. When tobacco is used to excess the breath becomes 
exceedingly vile, especially to those not accustomed to the weed. 
There is but one remedy : Stop using the tobacco. 

The following will be found a desirable — 

C— 131.— MOUTH WASH. 

Thymol, „ 8 grains 

Borax, 15 grains 

Distilled water, 1 pint. 

Mix. — Rinse the mouth frequently. 



132 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

BRIGHT'S DISEASE. (Acute and Chronic.) 

This disease, so named because it was first described by Dr. 
Bright, an eminent London physician, is attended with certain 
structural changes in the kidneys-a breaking down of the 

•f-i etc; tip 

Cause.— Exposure to cold and dampness, intemperance, and 
malaria ; it is not infrequently a sequel to scarlet fever. 

The acute form is more frequent in young persons, while the 
chronic form is largely confined to middle and advanced life. 

Symptoms.— There is in this disease a change in the composi- 
tion of the urine. While it may not change so very much in 
appearance, it is surcharged with albumin. This is characteristic 
of the disease, and it is detected by boiling the urine in a test- 
tube, when the albumin will coagulate. Sometimes it is present 
in great quantities. Dropsy is apt to be present. 

Acute Bright's Disease often begins with a chill, sick stomach, 
pains in the head, back, and limbs; the breathing is disturbed 
and the skin dry. There is more or less fever, the urine becomes 
very scant, and the small amount passed is dark in color, due 
to the presence of blood. There is frequent desire to void the 

urine. 

The disease lasts one, two, or three weeks, and terminates in 
one of three ways : in recovery, death, or the disease drifts into 
the chronic form. 

Chronic Bright's Disease may follow as a continuation of 
the acute form, or it may develop in a very occult and insidious 
manner, without being noticed until it has become well estab- 
lished. 

Symptoms.— There is apt to be general dropsy, dryness ol the 
skin, pale face, shortness of breath, dyspepsia, ansemia, frequent 
attempts to urinate ; the urine may be scant or profuse. _ The 
strength is impaired and fatigue is easily induced. Albumin in 
the urine, as in the acute form, is characteristic of the disease. 
Bright's disease is considered almost incurable after it has existed 
for any length of time. It has an almost resistless tendency to 
progress and finally to destroy life. 



bright's disease. 133 

Treatment. — The action of the shin should be carefully utilized 
in the treatment of this disease ; it should be promoted, and at no 
time should the perspiration be checked. Woolen clothing should 
be worn, and exposure to atmospheric changes avoided. The feet 
should be well protected with yarn stockings and thick-soled 
shoes. Friction to the skin and warm baths followed by friction 
are often of great benefit. Cold baths, especially sea bathing, 
should be avoided. Occupations which require exposure or induce 
fatigue should be abandoned. It is said that those afflicted with 
kidney diseases should live in warm climates free from great 
atmospheric changes. There are good reasons for this, since 
when the atmosphere is mild and warm the skin acts much more 
freely, leaving much less work for the kidneys to perforin. 
Violent exercise, intemperate habits, excesses of all kinds, con- 
stipation, and dyspepsia should all be guarded against. Acute 
diseases are apt to prove serious to a person with this affection, 
and all disorders, even such as are under ordinary circumstances 
trifling, should be carefully attended to. 

Milk is pre-eminently the food in this disease. By this is 
meant milk almost exclusively, and plenty of it. Medicines can 
do but little good. 

In the acute form of the disease, as when it follows scarlet 
fever, the physician will often prescribe active remedies, such as 
digitalis, squills, calomel, sweet spirits of nitre, spirits of mindererus, 
cream of tartar, and other active diuretics, and their action to be 
favored by free draughts of water. One drop doses of turpentine 
have been recommended. Do not be deceived by patent medicine 
advertisements. One of the chief things to be avoided is the 
reading of the endless array of advertisements of kidney medi- 
cines. There is an almost endless number of " kidney cures " 
on the market, and it is always an unfortunate matter for the 
afflicted to become infatuated with such literature as is used to 
sell such goods. The invariable object of such advertisements 
is to prove that doctors cannot cure this disease, but that the 
secret articles are almost infallible specifics. Such, however, is 
not the case ; there are no medicines capable of restoring the 
changes in the kidneys wrought by this affection. By proper 



134 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

care, temperate habits, and avoiding exposure it is possible to live to 
a good old age, and as little medicine should be swallowed as 
possible. 

BRONCHITIS. 

Bronchitis, or " Cold on the Chest," as it is commonly called, is 
an acute or chronic inflammation of the lining membrane of the 
bronchial tubes, embracing the " windpipe " and its branches 
ending in the lungs. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold and dampness, getting the feet wet, 
draughts of cold air, or anything which depresses the secretions 
or functions of the body. 

Symptoms. — General depression, followed by fever, tightness, 
and soreness of the chest ; cough at first tight and dry, but as the 
disease progresses it becomes loose. The expectoration, as a rule, 
is white and frothy, but in severe cases it is heavy and mixed with 
pus. Acute bronchitis with the very young or the very old is a 
very serious disease. When the smaller tubes near the lungs are 
involved, marked by difficulty of breathing, the gravity of the 
disease is greatly increased. 

Treatment. — A full dose of quinine, six to ten grains, if taken 
soon enough, will often cut short an attack. At bed-time drink 
freely of hot lemonade or ginger tea, and take ten grains of Dover's 
poivder. Profuse perspiration will follow, leaving the system 
somewhat debilitated, but the cold broken up. The bowels 
should be regulated. Take ten grains of quinine daily for a few 
days, and if the disease is exhausting a liberal diet must be given. 

A free purge, such as castor oil or citrate of magnesia, should be 
taken. If there is fever with dry cough, tincture of aconite (two 
drops every hour) and syrup of ipecac or wine of antimony should 
be given. Flaxseed tea may be liberally drank. 

A large mustard plaster placed over the chest, or turpentine or 
any good liniment rubbed over the chest, will often be of great 
benefit. 

If the cough is very troublesome, Cox's Hive Syrup may be 
given, and to each dose a small amount of paregoric may be 
added at night to quiet the cough. 



CHEONIC BRONCHITIS. 135 

Stokes' Expectorant (N. F.), which can be prepared by any drug- 
gist, will be found extremely useful for the cough of bronchitis. 
Dose, one teaspoonful every three or four hours. 

Quinine is always beneficial, of which a two-grain pill may be 
taken three times a day. Beef tea is an excellent stimulating 
food and may be freely drank. Poultices, especially for children, 
are of great value. 

Persons subject to attacks of bronchitis should wear woolen 
clothes, both winter and summer, live well and endeavor to build 
up the system. The feet should be kept dry and well protected. 
Cod-liver oil, iron, and other tonics, are sometimes required. 



CHRONIC BRONCHITIS. 

Chronic bronchitis of a mild form is a very common complaint, 
and consists of a catarrhal condition of the membrane of the 
bronchial tubes ; a constant irritation, and a disposition to acute 
attacks. Many persons are subject to such attacks, without any 
noticeable signs of the affection between them. 

Cause. — Neglected acute attacks; inherited tendency to the 
disease ; working among irritating substances ; or it may be the 
result of nasal catarrh, or disease of the lungs. 

Symptoms. — Cough, sometimes tight and sometimes loose, with 
more or less expectoration, pain in the chest, especially under the 
breast bone. There is no fever or but little ; the general health 
is but little impaired. Occasionally persons become emaciated, as 
in consumption. Persons so afflicted are generally in constant 
dread, fearing consumption, or that this disease may be its 
forerunner. 

Treatment. — Good, warm, woolen clothing is of great import- 
ance, in this disease. Much of the bronchitis of modern times is, 
no doubt, the result of improper or insufficient clothing. The 
food should be liberal. Real good livers seldom have bronchitis. 
Medical treatment should depend upon the cause of the disease. 
If the patient is scrofulous, aneemic, dyspeptic, or has a torpid 
liver, the removal of these conditions will often cause the bron- 
chitis to vanish. Iodide of ammonia, five grains three times a 



136 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

day, is an excellent remedy ; the syrup of iodide of iron is more 

adapted to children. 

Or 

Cod-liver oil, where general debility is present. 
Or 

Chloride of ammonia, when there is a general catarrhal condition 
with tenacious expectoration. 
Or 

Syrup of tar or wine of tar, when associated with dyspepsia. 
Or 

Oil of eucalyptus, when associated with nasal catarrh. 

Inhalations of creosote, carbolic acid, oil of eucalyptus, tar, and 
muriate of ammonia, are all more or less beneficial. Apparatus 
can be found in most every drug store suited for their application. 
The most simple ones should always be selected. Counter- 
irritation will relieve pain and soreness, and modify secretions. 
Painting the chest with iodine; the application of mustard plasters, 
belladonna, and capsicum porous plasters, will all be found more or 
less useful. 

BRUISES. 

A Bruise or Contusion is a flesh wound where no bone is broken 
and the skin not severed. 

Cause. — External blows, falling from a distance, being run 
over by wheels or stepped upon by animals, or any force which 
destroys the integrity of the parts. 

Treatment. — Cold applications and rest of the jmrts are the indi- 
cations. Alcohol diluted with 6 parts of water, Extract of Witch 
Hazel or Tincture of Arnica diluted with three or four parts of water. 

The discoloration remaining after the other symptoms of a 
bruise have subsided should be treated by the application of 
tincture of arnica, camphor or soap liniment. 

Bruises of the hands, fingers and toes are often very painful, 
and anodyne applications are called for. Such cases are benefited 
by the application of laudanum, properly diluted, or if there be 
fever of the parts lead water and laudanum are to be preferred. 

Vinegar, salt and water, solution of muriate of ammonia, are all 
useful applications to a bruise. 



BUNIONS — BURNS AND SCALDS. 137 

BUNIONS. 

Bunions are hard, tender swellings or deformities, generally 
found on the joint of the big toe, next to the foot. The contour 
of the toe is distorted, and the prominence of the bunion makes 
the wearing of a well-shaped shoe almost impossible. "Wearing 
tight, short, high-heeled, and badly fitting shoes is the main 
cause, but I am convinced that stockings which contract at the 
tips, thus drawing the ends of the toes together, may induce the 
formation of bunions. The predisposition to the affection is much 
more often inherited than is generally supposed. The little toe 
and the instep are sometimes the seat of bunions. 

Treatment. — The very best treatment is prevention. This can 
always be easily accomplished by wearing well-fitting, low-heeled 
shoes. The great trouble with people in treating bunions is that 
about all that is done is simply trying to relieve the pain when 
it becomes severe. This sometimes is extremely difficult to do. 
Laudanum, hot fomentations, painting with iodine, or a weak solu- 
tion of carbolic acid, are all useful. The German corn cure, given 
elsewhere, is beneficial to bunions. Bunion pads, for sale in all 
drug stores, are extremely useful, and more than anything else, 
can be relied upon to relieve the pain. They can be worn continu- 
ously and do not interfere with any other treatment that may be 
adopted. A common sense shoemaker can do more than the 
physician to radically cure this complaint. 

BURNS AND SCALDS. 

Burns and scalds are very similar in their nature. One is pro- 
duced by dry, and the other by wet heat; the results being 
practically identical. There are few accidents more common, and 
surely none more painful. 

Treatment. — The first treatment of a burn is to put out the 
fire. When a person's clothes are on fire, he should at once lie 
down and roll up in the carpet, or rug ; or persons present should 
use their own clothing to smother the fire. Do not try to extin- 
guish it with water, unless an abundance can be used. A little 
water may make matters worse by causing steam. 



138 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Burns and scalds are dangerous according to their extent. If 
one-third of the body is burned over, it is apt to cause death. If 
the patient suffers shock, aromatic spirits of ammonia, hot drinks, 
or stimulants should be administered. If the extremities become 
cold, heat should be applied. A physician should always be 
called if a burn is very severe. 

The local treatment should consist of the best at hand. If 
lime water and sweet oil are at hand, mix them, half and half, and 
apply freely. If neither is at hand, make some soda water with 
baking soda, or washing soda, bathe the parts freely and apply 
vaseline, sweet oil, or linseed oil. If the burn is small, white lead 
ground in oil is an excellent application. The object to be gained 
is to protect the surface from contact with the air. One or two 
ounces of washing soda dissolved in a pint of water, and cloths 
saturated with it applied and allowed to remain for three days, 
are said to promote rapid healing. 



BURSA. 

A bursa, in popular language, refers to a round, firm swelling, 
generally located on the back of the wrist or hand. It consists 
of a sac filled with liquid. 

Cause. — Violence of any kind to the parts ; straining or over- 
exercising the tendons or muscles. 

The lumps are from the size of a pea to that of a good-sized 
marble, and while they are in no way serious in their nature, they 
are a source of disfigurement. 

Treatment. — A good, substantial blow, as with a book, applied 
to the tumors is said to cause them to disappear. Firmly bind- 
ing a half dollar or a piece of flattened lead over the swelling 
will often disperse it. It is always best, however, to consult a 
physician, who will be able to remove the swelling in almost 
every instance. 



CANCEKS. 139 

CANCERS. 

In undertaking to write a section on the subject of cancers, 
I feel it important that the people shall unlearn what they think 
they know, in order to be taught the real truth in regard to 
these growths. Almanacs and advertisements have gone to such 
hideous extremes in regard to cancers, that the popular opinion 
in regard to them is entirely erroneous. 

Every ugly, angry sore or swelling is not a cancer, but the 
charlatan would have us believe that it is. There are real cancers ; 
there are also many morbid conditions pronounced cancers that 
are in no sense cancerous in their nature. " Be careful with that, 
or it will turn into a cancer," is a hackneyed red flag of the 
quack to scare any one who may have a blemish. 

Those who think they have or are threatened with cancer 
should lose no time in consulting the very best medical talent with- 
in their reach. Avoid, as you would an assassin, the itinerant 
medicine tramp who strolls about the country professing to be able 
to cure this class of disorders. He may be consulted in case of corns, 
bunions, and warts, but the line should be drawn when it comes 
to cancers. 

There are several kinds of cancers ; they attack persons of all 
ages, but are more common during middle and advanced 
life ; and no part of the body has entire immunity from them. 
They are divided under various names ; soft, hard, open or bleed- 
ing, black, skin, and bone cancers, being perhaps the most 
familiar terms to the ordinary reader. To my mind, a more 
tangible division would be into external and internal cancers, as 
the scientific arrangement is very complex. Cancers of the lip, 
face, and mammary gland are the most frequent external ; and of 
the stomach, liver, womb, and bowels the most common internal 
forms. 

Cause. — Cancer is pre-eminently a hereditary disease, yet in its 
early stages it is considered a local disease, and not involving the 
whole system, which, however, is the case later on. More people 
die with cancer than is generally supposed. There can be no 
doubt but that the use of tobacco is a prolific cause of cancer. 



140 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Most of the cases that have come under the notice of the writer 
have, for good reasons, been attributed to this cause. This applies 
with special force to cancer of the lip, tongue, throat, and stomach. 
There is much indefiniteness, however, connected with the origin 
of cancerous growths. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of cancers are largely governed by 
their location. They usually begin with pain and swelling, fol- 
lowed by the formation of an open sore. The pain is variable — 
sometimes very slight, sometimes severe ; as the disease advances 
it is more pronounced, and in some cases the pain becomes intense. 

Treatment. — The proper treatment of external cancer is its 
early removal with the knife. This is severe and radical, yet it 
is the only rational measure. Modern science has reduced the 
operation to a minimum. The use of ether and chloroform has 
rendered such operations painless, and the successful treatment 
of such diseases is one of the grand triumphs of medical skill. 
There is no substitute for removal. Those who shrink from the 
operation are almost certain to regret it. The pain, the disfigure- 
ment, and the lingering hopelessness which the slow progress of 
genuine cancer induces, are to be avoided at any price. 

There are many advertised cures, both for internal and external 
use ; these are all, I believe, worthless. Ointments or caustics 
which eat or burn out cancers are dangerous, and aggravate the 
disease. Do not poultice them, do not handle or irritate them. 
Let them absolutely alone. Meddling will surely make them 
worse. Some years ago no less than ten deaths from cancer 
occurred in the course of a few months under my notice, and I 
watched with no little interest the treatment in each case. 
Nearly every one so afflicted went from one physician to another 
and tried various patent articles besides. In the history of these 
cases it was pitiful to see what a sorry effort each poor victim 
made in managing his disease. Intelligent, rational, scientific 
medical practice was given a very poor chance. A reliable 
physician should receive loyal co-operation and confidence. If 
he is thought not competent to manage the case to the end, do not 
consult him in the first place. 

Medical treatment of cancer is limited to the consideration of 



CARBUNCLE. 141 

the general health. Tonics, alteratives, and laxatives are often 
vised with benefit. 

A matter, often of great concern, is how to get rid of the extremely 
disagreeable odor which is present in some forms of cancer. This 
is sometimes very difficult. When that peculiar heavy, rank, 
weakening odor is present, it seems to be almost a substance to be 
picked up and carried out. I consulted some years ago a gentle- 
man (who assisted in nursing a man of national reputation, who 
died of cancer) in regard to this odor. His reply was, "You 
can't kill it ; nothing will do much good ; we tried everything ; 
it was the worst thing we had to contend with." Everything 
should be removed from the apartments except what is absolutely 
necessary. Fresh air should be admitted in abundance. Every- 
thing should be kept scrupulously clean. Chloride of lime used 
in wash water will help. Bromo-chloralum, Piatt's chlorides, carbolic 
acid, and other disinfectants and deodorizers may all be used in 
turn, and will often greatly modify this disagreeable feature of 



CARBUNCLE. 

A carbuncle is a boil on a large scale, being deeper, without so 
definite a focus, and having a tendency to spread. Carbuncles 
range in size from a silver dollar to a saucer ; they are most com- 
mon on the upper part of the back and nape of the neck, and are 
attended with much more pain and constitutional disturbance 
than boils. A chill, followed by fever, often marks the first stage. 
They are a serious disease, and sometimes destroy life. 

Cause. — This is not known. Carbuncles occur in all classes 
of persons, but more frequently in men beyond the age of fifty 
years. They generally indicate a low state of the general health. 

Treatment. — The physician should always be called in early, 
as very energetic measures are often required to battle with car- 
buncle. A purgative should always be given at the onset. The 
parts should be freely poulticed, and tonics, such as quinine and 
iron, in connection with a generous diet, are usually required. 
Warm water, strongly medicated with lead water and laudanum, 
may be applied during the early stages instead of poultices. 



142 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Painting the parts three or four times a day with tincture of 
iodine in connection with the other treatment will be of service. 
Should the physician propose the use of the knife he should not be 
discouraged. Carbuncles have been known to occur in epidemics, 
and good authorities have considered them due to musty flour ; a 
point well worth considering by those afflicted. Convalescence is 
often slow, and tonics, alteratives, a good diet, and change of air 
all promote recuperation. 



CHRONIC NASAL CATARRH. 

During the past few years no class of diseases has attracted 
more attention than affections of the nasal passages. There seems 
to be a natural predisposition to the disease. An authority on 
this subject says: " Nasal catarrh is one of the most frequent affec- 
tions in this country, so much so that it has been estimated that 
out of one million inhabitants of the United States, nine hundred 
and ninety thousand suffer therefrom, and this average is even 
greater in some localities." 

Catarrh remedies are among the most salable goods in the 
drug market, and their sale is greatly on the increase. Physicians 
are making the study and treatment of this class of diseases a 
speciality, and most medical schools are adding this special study 
to their curriculums. Books are being written on the subject, 
and no department of medical science is more inviting than the 
treatment of catarrhal affections. Their cause, prevention, and 
cure are, as yet, largely empirical. 

Cause. — The influences and conditions which favor and pro- 
duce nasal catarrh are many. The writer, some years ago, inquired 
of one of the leading specialists of this disease in this country, 
" Why are catarrhal affections so prevalent ? " His reply was, 
" They seem to be produced by the advance in civilization." This 
surely was very indefinite, yet it gives us a broad field in which 
to search for an answer to the inquiry. No doubt the most com- 
mon cause is repeated and neglected colds ; each one leaving the 
membrane more sensitive and congested than before, when finally 
it abandons the effort to recuperate and remains swollen and 



CHRONIC NASAL CATARRH. 143 

inflamed, discharging thick mucus, or becomes dry and scabby, 
in which case the discharges come off in dry scabs. 

Yet this is only one cause, and when it exists alone seldom 
proves a severe or obstinate case. The clothing, in a marked 
manner, not only largely regulates the action of the skin, but the 
action of the mucous membranes of the respiratory organs as well. 
Improper clothing is a frequent cause of catarrh. Some time ago 
I stood in front of a crowd of street urchins about six or eight 
years of age, every one of whom had catarrh; and it is a 
noticeable fact that the poorly clad are very liable to it. Woolen 
under-clothing should be worn in cold weather by every one. 

Poorly ventilated houses, sleeping apartments, school-rooms, 
churches, and factories all have a tendency to congest the mem- 
brane of the nose. Atmosphere contaminated with chemicals, 
metallic particles, or the dust of machinery, as in the manufac- 
ture of many kinds of goods, all favor its inception. Malaria, 
scrofula, deranged digestion, and liver disorders are all irritating 
to the mucous membrane of the nose and throat. Acidity of the 
stomach is specially irritating. A decayed tooth will sometimes 
cause local catarrh. To all these may be added an inherited ten- 
dency to the disease. Breathing through the mouth, which is 
given a special section in this book, is, after all, perhaps the most 
common of all influences in bringing on catarrh and promoting 
its continuance when it is once established. It is said that " all 
mouth-breathers have catarrh, and that all catarrhal subjects 
are mouth-breathers." If this is true, and I believe it is, mouth- 
breathing bears a very close relation to the affection. The 
American people are becoming a nation of mouth-breathers, and 
the passages through the nose in many cases are almost closed. 
Whether people do not breathe through the nostrils because they 
are stopped up, or that the nostrils are stopped up because they 
are not breathed through, is a puzzle. These conditions exist 
together, and either will produce the other. It is a law of nature 
that unused organs become atrophied, and finally disappear. 
If so, we may expect the human nose some day to exist only in 
history. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of chronic nasal catarrh are nu- 



144 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

merous. There are two varieties of catarrh, which may exist 
separately or together in the same individual. One variety 
is characterized by a copious discharge of mucus. The mem- 
brane is swollen, or, to use a more correct expression, thickened ; 
the nose is stopped up, there is a dull headache, often more or 
less deafness, and a nasal twang to the voice. This is known as 
the Hypertrophic or moist variety. The other variety is marked 
by dryness of the membrane. The nostrils are enlarged and the 
internal tissues are shrunken ; the secretions dry on the surface, 
and come away in the form of dry scabs. This is known as 
Atrophic or dry catarrh. Sometimes the two varieties will exist in 
the same person, the front of the nose being moist and the back 
portion dry, the scabs coming down every few days into the 
mouth. The discharge is variable both in amount and appear- 
ance ; sometimes it is thin and watery, then thick and yellow ; at 
other times dark and tenacious. The condition of the general 
health, atmospheric changes, etc., will affect the discharge greatly 
in catarrh. When scabs form in the back part of the nose there 
is a disposition to hawk, hem, and scrape, to dislodge them. 
Sometimes it will take a day or two before the matter will be- 
come loosened, the effort often proving not only nauseating but 
exhausting, when finally, after a stimulating meal, or, perchance, 
by the force of sneezing, the dried scab is loosened, retaining the 
shape of the parts on which it fastened itself, its removal being 
followed by a feeling of satisfaction. Frontal headache and dis- 
turbance of the memory are often traceable to catarrh. 

Treatment. — Much thought and research have been expended 
in finding a cure for catarrh. Glad as we would be to publish 
the name of a specific for the affection, we are compelled to state 
that no such medicine has yet been found. Indeed, there is no 
medicine that even stands out prominently as being of special 
value. The profession is adhering to "general principles." I 
have watched the treatment of this disease with great interest, 
and have failed to develop even a plausible form of treatment, 
suited to any definite phase of the disease. The various " catarrh 
cures " on the market cure isolated cases only. I have followed 
their use with close inquiry for years, and I cannot recall two 



CHRONIC NASAL CATARRH. 145 

cases cured by the same remedy. The treatment, therefore, con- 
sists, not in using any one remedy, but in the trial of several, and 
adhering to an intelligent line of treatment, which must be varied 
to conform to individual cases. 

Cleansing the parts, using mild applications only, improving the 
general health, and avoiding that ivhich tends to aggravate the disease, 
are points to which the best physicians closely adhere. 

Enough has been said already, in pointing out the causes of 
the disease, to infer that the clothing, diet, ventilation, occupa- 
tion, exposure, dissipation, inherited taints, and mouth breathing 
must all be considered in seeking relief from a disease which 
these conditions so often assist in establishing. 

It requires patience and perseverance to keep the nasal cavity 
clean. Children should be taught how to blow and wash out the 
nose. The handkerchief should be used as often as necessary, but 
the nose should not be violently blown. The nostrils should be 
included in the morning ablutions. Snuffing water from the palm 
of the hand, when there is a tendency to catarrh, is an excellent 
practice, and its medicinal qualities are much improved if a small 
quantity of common salt, borax, or chlorate of potash be added. 

The nasal passage should be kept open. 

" Shut your mouth * * * * 
And stretch the nostrils wide." 

He who planned the human body breathed into man's nostrils 
the breath of life, and we should endeavor to perpetuate the 
Divine idea. It is not only essential that the air be warmed by 
passing through the nostrils before entering the lungs, but the 
membrane of the nose requires the friction and local effect of the 
air as it passes to and fro. 

If the disease lias become established and chronic, two aims are 
to be sought — to keep the nasal passages open and clean and pro- 
mote a healthy action of the membrane. Spray atomizers are 
now almost universally used to reach the throat and nose. They 
are of various mechanism intended to spray either watery or oily 
nil)- lances and to reach any part of the nasal cavity either through 
the nose or up back of the palate. 

10 



146 DISEASES AXD OTHER AILMEXTS. 

For cleansing purposes borax, common salt and bicarbonate of 
soda either singly or mixed — a heaping teaspoonful to a half pint 
of water — answers an excellent purpose. A solution of boric acid, 
peroxide of hydrogen or the alkaline antiseptic solution, diluted 
one-half or three-fourths with water, are deservedly popular spray- 
ing solutions. Dob ell's Solution, kept in drug stores, is an excel- 
lent spraying mixture for the nose. It is made as follows : 

A— 146. 

Bicarbonate of soda, 1 drachm 

Borax, 1 drachm 

Carbolic acid, 30 drops 

Glycerine, 1 ounce 

Water, \ pint 

Mix. 

The above can be used once or twice a day. Some persons can 
snuff liquids up the nostrils from the palm of the hand and in this 
way wash out the nose, and it is desirable that those with catar- 
rhal tendencies accustom themselves to this method of keeping the 
nasal passages clean. The liquid should be warm when used. If 
further medication is needed to effect a cure slightly stimulating 
applications are to be used. Mixtures containing menthol, cam- 
phor, oil eucalyptus, hydrastis, bismuth or carbolic acid are much 
in use. The following is a desirable oily spraying mixture : 

B— 146. 

Menthol, 15 grains 

Camphor, 10 grains 

Liquid petrolatum or alboline, 2 ounces 

Mix. Use once or twice daily. 

Menthol inhalers, either tubes filled with menthol or in solid 
cones on a holder, serve an excellent purpose in stimulating and 
soothing the mucous membrane of the nose and throat. Spirits 
of camphor is a desirable inhalant. 

Druggists sell a small duck-shaped glass nasal douche now con- 
siderably used for cleansing the nasal passages. The reservoir 
nasal douche with a rubber tube has drifted out of use as it some- 
times injures the duct connecting the nasal cavity with the ear. 
Where the nasal passages are not closed it is an effective method 
of washing out the nose. A teaspoonful of salt, borax, chlorate 
of potash or bicarbonate of soda, or what is better a teaspoonful 
of a mixture of all these things combined make an excellent 
douche liquid and should be used warm. 



CATALEPSY — CHAPPED HANDS. 147 



Local applications often prove beneficial, but most of the 
" catarrh snuffs " are too irritating to be of lasting benefit. The 
following, snuffed up the nose three or four times a day, will be 

found useful : — 

A— 147. 

Subnitrate of bismuth, 2 drachms 

Borax, 1 drachm. 

Mix. 

Much harm is done by applying irritating or caustic substances 
to the nose. When such are required the physician should apply 
them, as it is important to use the proper medicament and to touch 
only the spot intended. The powders sold by peddlers are simply 
irritants, which produce sneezing and may dislodge accumula- 
tions, but they are sure to do harm. 

Persons subject to catarrh should keep the head warm, and the 
hair should not be cut too close in winter. 



CATALEPSY. 

This disorder is quite rare, and is characterized by a sudden 
suspension of thought, sensation, and bodily movement. When 
the patient is seized with an attack he maintains the same posture 
he had when the paroxysm began. It may last only a few 
moments or it may continue for hours. It is a nervous affection, 
somewhat hysterical in its nature, and may be inherited. 

Tonics, out-of-door exercise, and electricity are the best treatments. 



CHAPPED HANDS. 

Chapped hands and face belong to the dry, scaly skin diseases. 
Some people who have thin skin are annoyed very much with 
these afflictions during cold, windy weather. The skin of some 
people — the author's among the number — refuses to be hardened 
by exposure. Persons so constituted should protect the hands in 
cold, windy weather by wearing gloves. 



148 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

When the skin cracks, which is apt to take place on the fingers 
and about the lips, the pain and discomfort are very annoying. 
The use of strong soap, washing too much, or failing to thor- 
oughly dry the hands and face after each ablution, and the 
handling of irritants, all have a tendency to favor the complaint. 

Treatment.— Consists in avoiding the exciting causes, what- 
ever they may be. The hands should be thoroughly dried after 
each washing, and dusting powder on the face is always excusable 
in such persons. 

Any healing and protecting application is appropriate, such 
as vaseline, cold cream, or glycerine and rose water mixed in equal 
parts. 

In every drug store may be found elegant preparations for 
this purpose. Almost every druggist has some preparation of 
his own, and in most instances well-suited to the complaint. 

Cocoa-butter or mutton suet are both very useful applications. 
I have observed that those who use either of these last-named 
articles are well pleased with them, hence they must answer the 
purpose well. A mixture of one part of Turlington's Balsam in 
four parts of glycerine is highly spoken of. 

The following is an excellent article for chapped hands, face, 

and lips : — 

a— 148. 

Powdered chlorate of potash, h drachm 

Rose water, 2 1 ounces 

Glycerine, 1-1 ounces. 

Mix. 

CHICKEN-POX. 

Chicken-pox, Varicella, in some instances closely resembles 
varioloid, or modified smallpox. It is perhaps the mildest of all 
eruptive disorders. It is contagious, and is confined almost 
entirely to childhood. 

Symptoms.— In less than a week after exposure pimples begin 
to form, sparsely scattered over the body. In a few days they 
become vesicles, then dry, and scab and fall off. Occasionally 
they fill with matter, and if scratched will pit like smallpox. 
Sometimes two or three crops of the eruption appear. 



CHILBLAINS. 149 

Treatment. — Carefulness is about the entire treatment. If it 
is desirable to prevent others from contracting the disease, isola- 
tion is, of course, necessary. 

A resort to a light diet and mild laxatives may in some cases 
be advisable. 

CHILBLAINS. 

Chilblains exist as the remnants of frostbite or the result of 
sudden exposure to extreme cold. The parts most liable to be 
involved are the toes, sides of the feet, heels, instep, ears, nose, 
and fingers. The symptoms are redness of the skin, slight 
swelling, great tenderness, and intense itching, tingling, and 
burning. Sometimes small, painful, itching blisters form. Atmos- 
pheric changes largely regulate their intensity, and chilblains 
often, in fact generally, are veritable barometers and thermometers 
combined. When the temperature is falling and the air is moist, 
as during a " thaw," the symptoms are sometimes very intense. 

Treatment. — Rubbing the parts with a lump of ice will relieve 
temporarily. Tincture of iodine diluted one-half with alcohol is 
perhaps the best application, or iodine ointment diluted one-half 
with lard, lead water and laudanum, soap liniment, spirits of cam- 
phor, turpentine, arid kerosene oil are all beneficial. Dilute sulphuric 
acid brushed over the skin allays the itching. The author, in his 
own case, has applied pure carbolic acid to the parts, always expe- 
riencing great relief. The parts should only be dampened and 
gently rubbed with the cork, and the surrounding surface avoided. 
Balsam of copaiba is said to promptly relieve. A strong solution 
of alum or tannin, in fact any astringent, will modify the trouble. 
A solution of citric acid in peppermint water, or simply rubbing 
with lemon peel, gives temporary relief. Warm socks and loose 
shoes should always be worn. When the skin is broken the fol- 
lowing should be applied : — 

A— 149.— CHILBLAIN LOTION. 

Olive oil, 1 ounce 

Pure carbolic acid, 10 grains 

Extract of opium, 30 grains. 

Mix. — Label, "Poison." Apply to chilblains. 



150 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or when the skin is not broken use the following : — 

A— 150.— LOTION FOE CHILBLAINS. 

Sulphate of zinc, 3 drachms 

"Water, 1 pint. 

Mix. — Poison. Sponge the feet night and morning. 



CHOLERA— Asiatic or Epidemic Cholera. 

This disease occurs in epidemics, and about one-half of the 
cases of the genuine disease prove fatal. Our country has been 
almost entirely exempt from it for a number of years, and the 
Northern States for a much longer time. 

Cause. — Cholera is not supposed to be contagious from person 
to person, like measles or smallpox, but its propagation results 
more from bad sanitary conditions — filth, dampness, and climatic 
influences. 

When cholera is threatened or exists in a community, people 
should be just as careful as if it were transmitted by personal 
contact, and should exercise just as rigid precautions as though 
the disease would generate spontaneously where conditions 
favored it. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of cholera in a general way resemble 
those of cholera morbus; but the material vomited and dis* 
charged is very different, consisting of a colorless, watery fluid, 
commonly called rice-water discharges. This rice-water discharge is 
characteristic of the disease. Prostration is rapid, the extremities 
and surface become cold, the features shrink, the skin becomes 
blue, there is burning thirst, and violent and prolonged cramps. 
The voice, pulse, breathing, and the mind all become weakened, 
and finally fainting, collapse, and death ensue. 

Treatment. — Whenever an epidemic of cholera is threatened 
every sanitary detail affecting individuals, private premises, or 
public thoroughfares should be looked after. During such times 
it always becomes the duty of local Boards of Health to instruct 
the people what to do, and enact such regulations as will insure 
the least possible circulation of the disease. Cleanliness, temper- 
ance, and ventilation will act as preventives in many cases. 

When it is suspected that a person is being attacked with 



CHOLERA MORBUS. 151 

cholera lie should be placed in bed at once. Absolute rest in bed 
is imperative. Small doses of essence of ginger and paregoric should 
be given. When the disease settles down in earnest, opium, 
aromatic sulphuric acid, spirits of camphor, stimulants and sup- 
porting treatment, the use of hot-water bottles, and hot bags of 
salt should be resorted to. The food should be of the blandest 
sort, and when possible the patient should be nourished per the 
rectum. The "Sun Cholera Mixture" has performed excellent 
service in several epidemics of this disease. Fifteen to thirty 
drops should be taken in a tablespoonful of warm water every 
fifteen or twenty minutes until relief is obtained. 



CHOLERA MORBUS. 

Cholera Morbus is the " Summer Complaint " of adults. 

Cause. — Hot weather and its accompaniments ; improper food, 
such as unripe fruit, over-eating, a change of drinking water, 
sudden changes of temperature. Poisonous or irritating foods 
will provoke it. 

Symptoms. — Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. The vomit is 
greenish or yellowish, and the discharges from the bowels yellow- 
ish or brown. The stomach refuses both food and drink. There 
is usually pain in the stomach and bowels, but not always. It is 
a very prostrating affection, and there is marked debility and a 
tendency to coldness and great thirst. If the symptoms are not 
arrested, the vomiting and purging become more watery ; cramps 
in the limbs, prostration, coldness, and finally death may result ; 
this, however, is quite rare. 

Treatment. — A physician should always be called in severe 
cases. A full dose of castor oil, to which has been added ten or 
fifteen drops of laudanum, should be given at once, if possible. 
A mustard plaster over the stomach and to the extremities will 
serve an excellent purpose. 

There are few better remedies for this affection than SquibVs 
Cholera Mixture. The dose is from one-half to one teaspoonful in 
a little water, repeated as necessary. Small doses frequently 



152 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

repeated are to be preferred. It can be purchased at any drug 
store. The Sun Cholera Mixture answers the same purpose. 

The various remedies for sick stomach, such as small pieces of 
ice in the mouth, lime water, etc., are often useful. For the pain, 
which is sometimes severe, there is no measure so applicable as 
hypodermic injections of morphine, as practiced by physicians. 



CHLOROSIS, OR GREEN SICKNESS. 

This disease is a complaint peculiar to young girls, but 
occasionally is met with in young men. 

Cause. — A failure of the blood-making organs to accomplish 
their functions, or it may be due to bad ventilation or unwhole- 
some food. Most cases are, however, associated with menstrual 
disorders. 

Symptoms. — Green or yellowish skin, pale lips, nervousness, 
weakness, and often palpitation of the heart. There is frequently 
a depraved appetite, the patient preferring chalk, slate pencils, 
etc., to more palatable articles. Amenorrhea or dysmenorrhea 
are apt to accompany it. 

Treatment. — Plenty of good, non-stimulating, easily digested 
diet, out-of-door exercise, ventilated bed-rooms, and a change of 
surroundings. 

Iron is the remedy for chlorosis. It should be taken in small 
doses and continued. Either of the following may be taken : — 

Two grains of Quevenne's iron, in pill form, after each meal. 

A teaspoonful of Basham's Mixture after each meal. 

Blaud's Pills, one or two three times a day, is a most excellent 
remedy. 

Either of the above should be continued for a long time. 
When iron disagrees with the stomach, other tonics should be 
combined with it or supersede it altogether for a while, but it 
should not be abandoned entirely. Quinine, strychnine, and arsenic 
may well be tried. Teaspoonful doses of elixir of iron, quinine 
and strychnine, three times a day, or bitter wine of iron, may be 
taken. Both are to be found in any drug store. 



CLUB FOOT — COLDS. 153 

Mild laxatives are most always required. Laxative mineral 
waters, compound licorice powder, or cascara cordial will answer the 
purpose. The clothing should be sufficient to keep the body well 
warmed, and a hot foot bath every night will have a salutary 
influence. 

CLUB FOOT. 

Club Foot consists of a crookedness of the foot whereby the 
weight of the body is thrown on the ball or side of the foot or 
heel. There are several varieties of the deformity, but most 
cases are practically of the same nature. 

Most cases are congenital, but it may be brought on after birth 
by sickness, such as fits or nervous disturbances, or the habit of 
walking on the side of the foot. 

Treatment. — If the deformity is slight it may be overcome 
by daily extension and friction of the parts, the use of stimu- 
lating liniments, and by placing the foot in position by proper 
apparatus. Surgical supply stores can furnish apparatus well 
calculated to cure this deformity, and an early inquiry should be 
made through the family physician, and if the case is quite pro- 
nounced or seems to grow worse, an operation should be performed 
by a surgeon as soon after the child is two months old as prac- 
ticable. An operation followed by proper attention will always 
result in bringing the foot to a proper position, and parents who 
neglect it commit a great wrong. If the child is delicate its 
general health should be improved. 



COLDS. 

In popular language a " bad cold " means a disturbance of some 
one or more of the bodily functions, as a " cold in the nose," a 
" cold in the bowels," a " cold on the chest," etc. The expression 
applies more particularly to the upper air passages, however, and 
is often used to express a constitutional disturbance resulting 
from exposure. 

Cause. — A cold is generally, perhaps always, the result of 
atmospheric influences upon the body or some part of it. Getting 



154 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

the feet wet, going from an overheated room out into the cold 
air, having the hair cut, a change of clothing, sudden changes 
of the weather, lying on the ground, sitting in a draught, checking 
perspiration, exposure when the body is weakened by disease; 
indeed, anything that tends to check the secretions or disturb 
the functional forces. The condition of the system, the stomach, and 
liver, no doubt has much to do with most cases of bad cold. 

Symptoms. — A cold may bring with it almost any kind of 
symptoms, depending, of course, on the organ or part of the 
system most affected by it. It generally begins with a sense of 
chilliness, lassitude, stiffness, pains in the back or limbs ; there 
is usually a disposition to get very near a fire ; the skin is dry, 
there is more or less thirst, loss of appetite, and in marked cases 
feverishness, dull headache, and more or less change in the 
secretions of the nose, throat, and bronchial tubes ; the digestion 
is generally disordered, the stomach and liver are deranged, due 
to a catarrhal condition. After a period of greater or less dura- 
tion, the action of the skin is again established and there is a 
return to the usual health. 

A cold is supposed to select the weakest spot in the body. If 
the lungs are weak, a cold is apt to develop into pneumonia ; if 
the digestion is impaired, acute dyspepsia or biliousness often 
result ; if a tooth is decayed, the toothache will ensue ; if the 
nerves are weak, neuralgia will assert itself. It is a popular 
theory that we all have some " weak spot," and a bad cold 
generally selects it as its prey. 

Treatment. — As a rule, an ordinary cold, unless it is severe, 
receives very shabby consideration in the way of treatment. 
People expect one good dose of medicine to drive it out of the 
system. For mild cases, special care for a day or two, a mild 
laxative, soaking the feet at night, warm drinks, and a few grains 
of quinine are all that is necessary. 

In more severe cases much can be gained by relinquishing 
work, going to bed, and drinking freely of boneset or other stim- 
ulating tea, hot lemonade, or hot water, taking about ten grains 
of quinine, or, if it is the hour of bed-time, about ten grains of 
Dover's powder. If the bowels are constipated, instead of the 



colic. 155 

Dover's powder one or two old-fashioned compound cathartic pills 
may be taken. It is a very common and effectual practice to 
purchase one dozen two-grain quinine pills at the beginning of a 
cold, and take three pills at once and two or three a day until the 
cold has vanished. 

If there is fever, two or three drops of tincture of aconite every 
two or three hours will relieve. 
Or 

If fever and discharge from the nose : — 

A— 155. 

Tincture of aconite, 30 drops 

Tincture of belladonna, 30 drops 

Water, 2 ounces. 

Mix. A teaspoonful every two or three hours. 

Or 

Five drops of camphor spirits on sugar every two or three 
hours. 
Or 

B— 155. 

Salicylic acid, 60 grains 

Solution acetate of ammonia, l£ ounces 

Syrup, 6 drachms. 

Mix. Take a teaspoonful every three or four hours. 



COLIC. 

Colic, in its popular sense, means pain in the abdomen. In 
medical language the nature of the part affected is generally 
included in the nomenclature, as bilious colic ; hepatic colic, due 
to passage of gall stones or bile derangement ; renal colic, when 
the pain is in or connected with the kidneys ; flatulent colic, 
caused by wind in the stomach and bowels; lead colic, due to the 
presence of lead in the system. 

Cause. — The cause of flatulent or abdominal colic is due to 
the presence of indigestible or irritating food, the generation of 
gas, constipation, dyspepsia, etc. 

Bilious and hepatic colics are often accompanied by the above 
conditions, and sometimes intense pain is due to the passage of gall 
stones. Such colic is marked by its sudden approach, the intense 



156 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

pain while it lasts, the abruptness of its departure, and the 
absence of other symptoms. Bilious colic is sometimes an alarm- 
ing disease. Previous to the attack, the patient complains of 
constipation and loss of appetite ; there is nausea, vomiting of 
bile, and the tongue is coated. The pain is of a sharp, cutting 
nature. At first it is somewhat relieved by pressure, but the abdo- 
men soon becomes tender and the extremities cold ; the skin and 
whites of the eyes assume a yellowish tint and there is great 
desire for relief. Some people are subject to bilious colic. Gouty 
persons are apt to suffer more or less with colicky pains, 
especially when that disease is receiving heroic treatment for 
other parts. 

Treatment. — In all forms of colic the indications are : — 

1. To relieve the pain and spasm. 

2. To open the bowels. 

3. To prevent inflammation. 

4. To prevent future attacks. 

To relieve the pain, pepper tea, ginger tea, essence of Jamaica gin- 
ger, aromatic spirits of ammonia, essence of peppermint, Sun Cholera 
Cure, paregoric, the various "pain killers," carminatives, and anodynes 
are all useful, and must be given in decided doses. People are 
obliged to resort to such things as they have in the house, and 
any of the above may well be chosen. If there is flatulence, 
bicarbonate of soda will help to relieve it. Sometimes when the 
stomach is foul an emetic of a teaspoonful of mustard and the 
same quantity of scdt in a cup of warm water, repeated in ten 
minutes if necessary, will prove beneficial. Mustard plasters should 
be applied over the abdomen. The bowels are best emptied by 
an injection of warm soap and water, in which is put a table- 
spoonful each of molasses and salt. A large injection of warm 
water will often give immediate relief. If the stomach and 
bowels are emptied and a liberal use of carminative anodynes 
administered, the chances are that the disease will speedily 
disappear. 

Flannel cloths, wrung out in hot water and applied to the 
abdomen and renewed every three minutes, are a powerful ano- 
dyne, more so than the hot water bottle. 



CONSTIPATION. 157 

From one-half to one pint of olive or cotton-seed oil swallowed 
at once is said to greatly aid the passage of gall stones. 
Or 

If the pain is extreme, 20-drop doses of laudanum or tablespoon- 
ful doses of paregoric in warm water, repeated every twenty or 
thirty minutes until three or four doses are taken, may be neces- 
sary. 
Or 

If the stomach will accept it, a good dose of salts or magnesia 
will always benefit colic. 



CONSTIPATION. 

Constipation of the bowels, notwithstanding the fact that it is 
usually only a symptom of derangements of the digestive system, 
presents phenomena so decidedly its own that it may well be con- 
sidered a disease, with symptoms of its own demanding special 
treatment. 

Cause. — The causes which lead to constipation of the bowels 
are almost endless. Some persons are born with the tendency ; 
it runs in families ; it is formed by habit ; modern diet is very 
favorable to constipation ; food of the present day is much more 
constipating than it was years ago. Our food is much more con- 
centrated ; we eat more sugar and sweetened food, more bolted 
flour, pastries, and drink more tea. We are much more urban 
and less rural in our surroundings, business life is more tense, 
and the nervous organization of modern civilization is less vigor- 
ous ; all of these things are factors in producing a constipated 
habit. Neglecting the calls of nature is known to all. Want of 
exercise and excessive mental strain, both favor the condition. 
Dyspepsia so often causes constipation, and constipation so often 
causes dyspepsia, that they are seldom found separate. Some- 
times it is difficult to conclude which is the disease and which 
is the symptom. Sedentary habits, close application to study, and 
anxiety of mind, are specially apt to produce a combination of 
the two conditions. 

The intestinal secretions of many people are naturally deficient, 



158 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

and the discharges are lumpy, hard, and dry; in these cases 
constipation always exists. Bile, the natural secretion of the 
liver, is laxative. When this organ is torpid, constipation may 
be expected. A prominent author states that "a sedentary 
life is the most common cause of constipation," and that " simple 
laziness comes in next ;" and he speaks the truth. 

Symptoms. — People are so apt to magnify all symptoms into 
full-fledged diseases, that the real source of many bodily ailments 
is often overlooked. Constipation may cause a whole train of 
symptoms, and yet exist itself as only a symptom of some condi- 
tion or disease of the body. Indeed, this is the case in the 
majority of instances. 

Diseases of the liver, stomach, brain, nerves, and heart ; poisons 
in the system, such as malaria or lead, are all accompanied with 
more or less constipation ; and in administering medicines, dis- 
crimination, which is of great importance, is too often overlooked. 
The author is aware that here is opportunity for much speculation. 
Many people with slightly impaired health have a tendency to 
exercise great concern over their ailments. Their aches and 
pains attract their attention, yet there is no definite or distinct 
disorder. In the morning their nerves are diseased ; at noon 
their liver and stomach are deranged; in the evening their 
muscles are losing their elasticity; and at night their bones 
are the seat of pain, and their life is full of misery. I have met 
many such people. Their talk is largely devoted to their aches 
and pains, and yet, strange to say, such people apparently enjoy 
(?) fairly good health. I am inclined to believe that a constipated 
habit is a frequent cause of this hyper-sensitive condition of the 
nervous, mental, and physical organization. When the constipa- 
tion is prolonged, these migratory and promiscuous ailments 
become more localized and pronounced. Real headache, depressed 
spirits, acidity of the stomach, water brash, heartburn, confusion of 
thought, irritable temper, abdominal discomfort, flatulence, mot- 
tled complexion, palpitation of the heart, loss of appetite, loss of 
flesh, bloodlessness, cough, cold hands and feet, chilliness, sleepy 
sleeplessness, piles, pains in the limbs at night, bad breath, 
biliousness, a feeling of lassitude and weakness of arms and legs, 



CONSTIPATION. 159 

offensive perspiration, boils, and festerings ; all these become promi- 
nent and disturbing symptoms to the constipated. 

Treatment. — In the treatment of this disease we aim at two 
objects: first, to unload the bowels and secure temporary relief ; 
second, to bring about regular natural movements of the bowels. 
It cannot be denied that too much cathartic medicine is used for 
constipation. " I want a dose of cathartic pills, and give me some 
that will do the work," is an expression which, in substance, every 
druggist has heard numberless times over the drug counter, and 
he is expected to supply a thoroughly active sort. What shall 
be done to relieve the bowels temporarily? I am aware that 
something will be taken, notwithstanding the fact that the same 
condition will exist in a few days again, and that this periodical 
exciting and straining the coating of the bowels only weakens 
and impairs their elasticity. Depending on cathartic pills to 
open the bowels every few days is an exceedingly pernicious 
practice. I have heard people remark with apparent pride, how 
many cathartic pills it took to purge them, as if it was a mark of 
strength and physical resistance, when exactly the contrary was 
the case. There may be times when a brisk purge is needed, but 
it is not often. 

The rectal syringe should always be chosen in preference to 
cathartic medicines. A warm water injection, with the addition 
of salt or soap, or both, taken at night, will relieve the bowels ; 
a good night's sleep will result, and the morning will bring 
refreshment of mind and body. Preparations of senna are quite 
harmless, and compound licorice powder serves a good purpose. 
The saline mineral waters, such as "Hwiyadi," agree with some, 
but they are not suited to such continued use as some persons 
are in the habit of making of them. Rhubarb suits old people, 
but as a rule it is not suited to the treatment of constipation. 
Calomel and blue mass should not be thought of in this connection. 
Sulphur is an excellent laxative. Aloes, and mandrake or rather 
its active principle, podophyllin, are perhaps the best cathartics for 
general use. Either should be taken in combination ; in every 
drug store may be found pills with aloes and other cathartics, 
with perhaps strychnine and belladonna, which add greatly to the 



160 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

virtue of cathartic pills. The same may be said of podophyllin. 
Such pills should always be taken at night. What is known as 
the Vegetable Cathartic Pills ; Dr. Fordyce Barker's Aperient Pills ; 
or Pills of Aloin, Strychnine, and Belladonna, are all excellent 
combinations. 

The use of any of the above should be confined to very narrow 
restrictions, as simply taking purgatives or laxatives is not curing 
constipation. Diligent search should be made to find the cause 
of the difficulty. If it is neglecting the calls of nature, a chosen 
time each day should be given to such a purpose. The best time 
to form the habit is in the morning, but some persons have better 
success at night. Comfortable apartments, where it is pleasant 
to go and perform the act without exposure to cold, discomfort 
of person, or publicity, is a wonderful help ; indeed, one writer 
whose opinion is no doubt correct, places uncomfortable accom- 
modations as the greatest cause of the constipated habit. I 
believe if the apartments for this purpose were thoroughly com- 
fortable constipation would become almost unknown. 

Much can be accomplished by systematic water drinking. A 
drink of water should be taken at night, and another in the 
morning on rising. It should not be too cold, nor should it be 
stale. A pinch of common salt will give it laxative properties. 
Warm water acts better with some people. Coffee and tea, espe- 
cially the latter, should be avoided. Warm water drank at meal 
time has gained great favor, and should be encouraged. 

Out of door exercise, ventilated houses, and early rising are all 
important. The food has much to do with the action of the 
bowels as a rule : bulky food, like greens, fruit, etc., is laxative, 
while concentrated food, such as milk, sugar, etc., is constipating. 
Bread made of bolted flour, meats, rich food, and pastries, milk, 
and sugar, all have a constipating effect. Unbolted flour bread, 
bran bread, oat meal, cracked wheat, corn bread, molasses, peaches, 
apples, pears, corn, tomatoes, and the various dried fruits, especially 
figs and prunes, while not laxative, have a tendency to promote 
the action of the bowels. A great many cases can be overcome 
by attention to diet alone. 

In what might be called the medical treatment of the con- 



CONSTIPATION. 161 

stipated habit, a variety of measures must be utilized, and no one 
remedy should be used long at a time. 

The rectal syringe is the most useful agent in overcoming the 
habit. Every person who is costive should have one. Use plain 
cold water one time ; salt water next time ; then soapsuds, etc., 
alternating from one to the other. Do not get in the habit of 
using the sj r ringe, however. It is said that the habitual use of 
warm water injections will increase the torpidity of the bowels. 
Suppositories are very beneficial in constipation, and those made 
of glycerine, to be found in almost any drug store, answer the 
purpose admirably, especially when traveling and when a syringe 
cannot be conveniently used. In the choice of medicines, great 
care must be exercised, as many cathartics strain the muscular 
fibres of the bowels, and the after effect of their action is an 
increase of the difficulty. Cascara sagrada is said to be one of the 
best remedies for the relief of habitual constipation. Ten to 
twenty drops of the fluid extract, or one or two teaspoonfuls of 
Cascara cordial, are quite pleasant in their action and seem to 
overcome the intestinal torpor. It should not be taken in cathar- 
tic doses; but in doses just sufficient to produce a normal action. 

If there is a relaxed or catarrhal condition, tincture of mix 
vomica is one of the best remedies. Goldenseal — either the fluid 
extract, or the active principle, hydrastin — will often relieve when 
the discharges are dry, hard and covered with mucus. Five drops 
of tincture of mix vomica, or ten drops fluid extract goldenseal will 
often produce happy results. A teaspoonful of powdered sulphur 
in molasses taken in the morning is an extremely useful laxative, 
especially if there is a tendency to piles. Sulphur spring water, 
Ilbir-TAck water, Harrogate water, and Hunyadi water may all be 
turned to practical use. 

When the liver is torpid, the skin sallow, a sense of fullness in 
the right side, and clay-colored stools, podophyllin in combina- 
tion with mix vomica and belladonna should be used for adults ; 
and phosphate <>f soda, one teaspoonful in water each morning, for 
children. Phosphate of soda may be put in soup or broth. 

The aged, the weak, and invalids find rJtubarb useful, but for 
general purposes it is not suited. A piece may be carried in the 
U 



162 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

pocket and chewed at liberty. These cases are sometimes greatly 
helped by the following : — 

A— 162. 

Epsom salts, one ounce 

Cream of tartar, one drachm 

Dried sulphate of iron, ten grains 

Water, one quart. 

A wineglassful each morning upon rising. 

Or 

Ten drops fluid extract stillingia three times a day. 
Or 

Two or three drops tincture belladonna three times a day. 
Or 

Two drops Fowler's solution of arsenic at meal time. 
Or 

One-half dozen each of almonds and raisins daily. 
Or 

An orange before breakfast every morning. 



CONSUMPTION. 

Consumption, also known as Tuberculosis and Phthisis, is a dis- 
ease with which we are all, alas ! too familiar. 

It is not always confined to the lungs, although they are almost 
always involved, and in an overwhelming majority of cases are 
the focus of the tubercular formations. It is estimated that about 
one person in six or eight of the world's population die of this 
malady. 

Cause. — Consumption of the lungs is pre-eminently an inherited 
disease; that is to say, the tendency or the predisposition to con- 
sumption is generally inherited. It may originate, and often 
does, in those whose previous history is free from any signs of 
the disease, yet if we trace through succeeding generations of 
consumptive families we will find that it is a veritable lineal 
scourge. 

Pneumonia or bronchitis is not likely to cause it ; neither are 
measles nor hemorrhage of the lungs, nor nasal catarrh, and in 
all probability will not, unless there is a pre-existing tendency to 



CONSUMPTION. 163 

the disease. If this predisposition exists in the system, no matter 
how latent, these diseases will have a tendency to develop it. 

Much is printed in patent medicine and other advertisements 
in regard to catarrh as causing consumption. I question whether 
catarrh ever leads to genuine consumption, unless there exists a 
tendency to the disease. It would be almost as rational to expect 
scarlet fever to develop into measles. Catarrh and tubercular 
consumption are two entirely different diseases. 

On the other hand there are those who argue, and not without 
a reason for their belief, that simple nasal catarrh is preventive 
of consumption. We know that piles and some other diseases 
eeem to hold consumption in check, in those who are strongly 
disposed to it, and I am sure that nasal catarrh could as reasonably 
be supposed to relieve the system of the tendency to tubercular 
development as any other abnormal condition. Indeed, it often 
resembles it, as far as the discharge is concerned. The idea has 
been advanced that where catarrh exists in consumptive persons 
it should not be interfered with, as the progress of the more 
serious disorder would take on renewed activity if the catarrh were 
cured. But this is not a proper theory and it is generally safe to 
use proper measures to cure any disease. Catarrh is irritating to 
the throat and bronchial tubes ; it is debilitating ; it interferes with 
the breathing, and for these reasons may favor the development 
of consumption. Similar language would apply to colds, sore 
throat, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Beyond this they are quite 
innocent as breeders of tubercle. One of the best authors in the 
world on lung diseases says: " That a neglected cold may even- 
tuate in phthisis is a traditional, popular error, unfortunately held 
also by some medical writers and practitioners. The error is to 
be regretted, because it often interferes with hygienic management 
in cases of phthisis." 

Climate, age, and occupation are all important factors in the 
development of this disease. Impure air, improper diet, confine- 
ment, close application to study, scanty clothing, exposure to cold 
and dampness, all favor its development. Attacks of measles and 
laryngitis are very apt to develop lung diseases in those so inclined. 
There are two kinds of consumption — the " Gfdlvping" and the 



164 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

chronic variety. The former runs its course in a few weeks and 
is quite rare; the latter is the great scourge of the human race. 

Symptoms. — The disease begins usually with a short and insid- 
ious cough, with a feeling of lassitude, and a decline in general 
health, attended at times from its onset with a pain in the affected 
lung and a somewhat quickened circulation ; or it gives the first 
indications of its existence by the occurrence of a hemorrhage, 
or develops itself after severe bodily or mental fatigue. It may 
sometimes be traceable to some neglected cold. The disease, in 
any event, becomes fully established, with symptoms which hardly 
need a detailed description. " The harassing cough by day and 
by night, the impaired appetite and disturbed digestion, the loss 
of blood from the lungs, the steadily augmenting debility, the 
short breathing, the exhausting night sweats, the hectic fever, 
the deceptive flush which this imparts to the cheek, the increased 
lustre of the eye, the singular hopefulness, the temporary im- 
provements, the relapses, and the greater vividness of the imagi- 
nation, so strongly contrasting with the waning frame, are phe- 
nomena which sad experience has made familiar not only to 
every physician, but to many a fireside." 

Hemorrhage occurs in about two-thirds of the cases. In the 
advanced stages the cheeks are hollow, the bones prominent, the 
skin arid, the nose sharpened and drawn, the eyes sunken, with 
the adnata of a pearl color and destitute of vascularity, the lips 
retracted, so as to produce a bitter smile, and the hair thinned by 
falling out, the neck wasted and oblique and somewhat rigid, the 
shoulder blades projected or winged, the ribs prominent and the 
breast narrowed, the abdomen flat, the joints seemingly enlarged, 
the nails livid and occasionally incurvated, the extremities some- 
what swollen, and the whole attended with a most afflicting cough, 
sore mouth, difficulty of swallowing, hoarseness, a feeble, whisper- 
ing voice, sometimes its entire extinction. 

These symptoms and conditions admit of wide variation, yet 
enough are always present, so characteristic as to make the nature 
of the disease certain. The expectoration is at first mucous, per- 
haps bloody ; later in the disease it becomes heavy, thick, and 
purulent. 



CONSUMPTION. 165 

Consumption is often confounded with other diseases. The 
mental condition is so hopeful that the real nature of the malady- 
is often overlooked. On the other hand, the mind is so depressed 
and foreboding in derangements of the digestive organs that 
those afflicted are sure they have some serious malady, and as 
consumption is the most conspicuous one, the hypochondriac 
often fastens his mind on this disease, which sometimes seems to 
pacify the morbid fancy. Chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic 
pleurisy, heart disease, nasal catarrh, liver diseases, ansemia, 
malaria, habitual constipation, simple debility — especially in 
young girls — all cause symptoms which are sometimes found in 
connection with consumption, and a superficial opinion may err 
in discrimination. 

The main characteristic symptoms of consumption are cough, 
spitting of blood, and progressive emaciation. It should be 
remembered that a cough is not a very significant symptom 
unless other symptoms are present. A cough may attend almost 
any disease, or it may simply be a habit. Unless it is a cough 
of some significance it should not occasion alarm. The cough 
and expectoration of some cases of chronic bronchitis closely 
resemble consumption. All the above symptoms may be present 
without consumption. A physician in deciding a case adds the 
family history, the physical condition of the chest, the rise in the 
temperature, and, above all, a microscopic examination of the 
expectorated material. 

Treatment. — I am thoroughly convinced that if persons have 
pulmonary consumption, it is not only their privilege, but it is to 
their interest, to be cognizant of the fact. To keep the patient in 
ignorance of his or her complaint is to cripple and handicap all 
efforts to overcome the disease. There are very few exceptions to 
this principle. It may be argued that it would frighten a patient 
to tell him that he is afflicted with such a grave malady, and that 
a knowledge of his condition would cause him to abandon hope. 
Not so. When Garfield was told that he had one chance in a 
hundred to recover, he replied : " I will take that chance ; " and 
the world knows how manfully he fought with one chance in his 
favor and ninety-nine against him. The average man or woman 



166 DISEASES AND OTHEK AILMENTS. 

loves life just as well as Garfield did, and will as diligently fight 
for it. 

If a man is told that he has pulmonary consumption, he will 
at once adopt the best possible treatment. It is impossible for a 
physician to secure the intelligent co-operation of the patient in 
this complaint if the patient is kept in ignorance of his condition. 
There are so many advantages to be gained by a knowledge of 
one's own real condition, that it is almost criminal to keep an 
individual in ignorance. No doubt many lives are lost by 
deceiving people into their graves. 

Persons with consumption, in most cases, require a complete 
change of air ; food, clothing, habits, occupation, and surroundings. 
They should get out of the nest where the disease has hatched 
and grown. Everything which tends to weaken the vital force 
should be abandoned. 

Dr. W. Richardson laid down the following precepts, and they 
are well worthy of a place in this connection : — 

1. " A supply of pure and fresh air, for respiration, is constantly 
required by the tuberculous patient 

2. " Daily exercise in the open air is imperatively demanded 
by the tuberculous patient. 

3. " It is important to secure for the patient a uniform, shel- 
tered, temperate, and mild climate to live in, with a temperature 
about 60° and a range of not more than 10° or 15° ; where, also, 
the soil is dry and the drinking water is pure and not hard. 

4. " The dress of the tuberculous patient ought to be of such a 
kind as to equalize and retain the temperature of the body. 

5. " The hours of rest should be from sunset to sunrise. 

6. " Indoor or sedentary occupation must be suspended ; but 
outdoor employment in the fresh air, even in the midst of snow, 
has been and may be advantageous. 

7. " Cleanliness of body is a special point to be attended to in 
the hygienic treatment of tuberculosis. 

8. " Marriage of consumptive women, for the sake of arresting 
the disease by pregnancy, is morally wrong, and physically mis- 
chievous." 

ThAse matters relating to diet, clothing, rest, sleep, exercise, and 



CONSUMPTION. 167 

general discipline, are of far more importance in the treatment of 
consumption than medicinal considerations. The diet should 
be the best — sensible, plain, and well cooked. Books on the sub- 
ject generally prescribe a course of diet, but such advice is seldom 
followed. The limitations of the market, and more often of the 
purse, render such advice impracticable. Warm milk, unbolted 
wheat bread, corn bread, eggs, beef, mutton, oysters, rice, fish, 
vegetables, peas, tomatoes, beans, stewed fruits, and meals at 
regular hours, embrace a wholesome bill of fare. 

The starchy substances, such as potatoes and hominy, white 
bread, pastries, pies, and starchy foods generally ; pickles, spices, 
salted meats, cheese, preserves, and nuts, should be avoided. 
Hot liquids at meal time are not advisable. A quart of milk can 
be taken daily. Warm milk can be drank at almost any time, 
especially on going to bed, but cold milk tends to produce bilious- 
ness and should be avoided. 

The practical cook can prevent and cure more cases of con- 
sumption than the most skillful administration of medicine can 
ever hope to. Corn meal can be served up in many very palata- 
ble ways, and it is very wholesome. 

One "plan" of treatment consists of drinking from four to 
seven quarts of milk each day in divided amounts, and eating 
two eggs and two ounces of malt twice daily. If the stomach will 
bear it, one-half an ounce of cod-liver oil may be also used as a 
food during the day. If the milk is constipating the oil will, in 
a measure, counteract its effect. 

Food taken early in the day is more apt to be digested than if 
taken later on, because the stomach is in full sympathy with the 
body, which is always in better condition early in the day. 

The clothing of the consumptive should be ample, and of wool 
both winter and summer ; not too heavy and of full size. Chest 
protectors are not to be recommended. Good, thick-soled shoes 
should be worn. 

The medical treatment of consumption is very important. 
Consumptives as a rule take a great deal of medicine. They will 
try one medicine and then another, only stopping to consult some 
physician, whose medicine will, in turn, be laid aside for some- 



168 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

thing else. These anxious migrations of effort go on until the 
disease becomes thoroughly developed and the family physician 
is called — perhaps for the first time — whose skill is unavoidably 
limited to making easy the last months, or perhaps weeks or days, 
of a consumptive's life. Oftentimes a consumptive will be taking 
four or five treatments at once : somebody's cod-liver oil, some 
one else's " sure cure for consumption," perhaps a " without medi- 
cine " process, somebody's " compound oxygen," and perhaps one 
or two domestic remedies suggested by the neighbors. To the 
above may be added the continual use of " cough drops," " loz- 
enges," chlorate of potash, cubeb cigarettes, and various devices 
to breathe through, with which the market is flooded. 

The very nature of consumption or tuberculosis demands that 
the treatment, from its inception, be placed in the hands of a con- 
scientious, capable physician. 

Consumption is due to a living germ or microbe, bacillus tuber- 
culosis, which aggregates in the tissues of the body, most fre- 
quently in the lungs. It may enter the system in contaminated 
food, drinking water or milk from infected cows ; by contact with 
drinking cups and other utensils, clothing, money or house-flies; 
by breathing germ-laden dust from the street or sidewalk ; the in- 
fected air of sick rooms, hospital wards, school rooms, public halls 
or railroad cars. We are all no doubt, at times, more or less in 
contact with the germs of this disease. 

On the other hand, whatever debilitates, enervates or weakens 
the physical powers or vital forces, such as intemperance, disease, 
poor diet, exhausting labor, sexual excesses, or inherited weak- 
nesses, renders the system more susceptible to its influence. 

Again, each individual case of tuberculosis occurs under local 
or home conditions peculiarly its own, which call not only for the 
medical advice, but also for the sanitary and hygienic knowledge 
and experience of the educated physician. He may find it wise 
to entirely change the sleeping apartments, the diet, the occupa- 
tion, or the habits of the patient. He may deem it necessary to 
investigate the food or milk supply. He may be compelled to in- 
clude the public school, the factory or store in his investigations. 
Indeed, the great "white plague" has become a social, industrial 
and economic problem. ISTot only local but state and national au- 



CONSUMPTION. 169 

thorities are engaged in the work of preventing its spread and cur- 
tailing its ravages to the narrowest limits. 

To meet the demands of progressive medical practice, none 
but the physician can intelligently decide what to do in each in- 
dividual case. 

It is for the physician to advise regarding ventilation, diet, ex- 
ercise, occupation, disinfection, the use of sputum cups, out-of- 
door sleeping, arranging an open window cot, seeking another 
climate, isolation and school and social relations. Moreover, the 
average family needs that the doctor add precept to precept in order 
that essential requirements be complied with. 

An important thing for the people to learn is that consumption 
can be prevented, and that by the early adoption of the three great 
remedies in this disease — good food, fresh air, rest — a majority 
of cases can be cured. 

Two good mottoes for all to follow are: 

Don't give consumption to others. 
Don't let others give it to you. 

As the germs infest the expectorated sputum, those afflicted 
should not spit on the sidewalk, on the floors of cars or halls, nor 
sneeze or cough without protecting the mouth ; nor live, sleep or 
work in rooms unless they are thoroughly ventilated. Kemember 
that filth breeds disease germs and flies carry them. Medicines 
are much less depended upon than formerly in the treatment of 
consumption, Food, Air and Rest having taken their place. 

Cod-liver Oil is much used as a constructive remedy. If ad- 
ministered early in the disease and to young persons it is of great 
value. It can be given plain, or emulsified with hypophosphites. 
The article on cod-liver oil, in this volume, well describes how it 
should be used. 

Arsenic is next in value to cod-liver oil as a remedy for con- 
sumption. Properly used it is harmless, and if wisely employed 
would prolong many lives which otherwise yield to this formid- 
able disease. Arsenic, like cod-liver oil, is more beneficial in the 
early stages of the chronic form of the disease. During the 
active stages, where hectic fever and night-sweats are present, 
arsenic will fail to benefit. 



170 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

It should be given under the supervision of a physician in the 
form of Fowler's Solution in small doses, from two to five drops 
after meals, and continued for a long time. Its use should be 
suspended for a few days occasionally. Under its use the appetite 
improves, and its tonic properties are lasting. When the dose is 
too large the eyes will become somewhat puffy, and it should be 
decreased. 

It will not get into the bones or any other tissues, and if a phy- 
sician is consulted in each individual case there is no need of 
being afraid of it, 

The phosphites and hypophosphites have won a decided reputation 
as curatives of consumption. They are to be heartily recom- 
mended because they have a direct influence against the disease, 
improve the digestion, and add important elements to the body. 
In every drug store may be found preparations of the phosphites 
or hypophosphites, either in the form of syrup or elixir. Fellows' 
Syrup of Hypophosphites is an excellent combination, and I can 
heartily recommend it. The druggist, however, can make an 
article equally as good. 

Mullein leaves are used for consumption with asserted success. 
Some remarkable statements have come from reliable sources in 
regard to the virtues of this plant. It is well worth trying. One 
pint of milk in which is steeped four ounces of fresh mullein leaves 
is directed to be drank three times daily. It is said that " under 
this treatment a consumptive will increase in weight, the cough 
will lessen, the expectoration become easy, and the general condi- 
tion rapidly improve." 

Tar, carbolic acid, and creosote, either internally or by inhalation, 
are much used and are beneficial. Creosote is specially useful as 
an inhalant. Apparatus for this purpose may be found in every 
drug store. Robinson's Inhaler is perhaps the best. Iodine should 
be used more than it is, and perhaps LugoVs Solution is the best 
preparation; dose, two to six drops three times a day in water. 

Quinine, iron, nux vomica, and bitters of various kinds are to be 
given when needed. The great aim is to build up the system. 
If anasmia exists, use iron ; if malaria, use quinine ; if constipation, 
use nux vomica, etc. 



CONSUMPTION. 171 

For night sweats, twenty drops aromatic sulphuric acid at bedtime. 
Or 

Ten drops tincture belladonna at bedtime. Belladonna may- 
be given during the day, it being an excellent remedy for the 
cough. 
Or 

Bathing the surface with alum water. 
Or 

Sage tea is a domestic remedy and possesses some virtue. 

The cough will call for anodyne expectorants, but they should 
be used as sparingly as possible. Cough mixtures interfere with 
the stomach, the digestion, and the strength, and care should be 
exercised in their use. Much can be accomplished by suppressing 
the inclination to cough. No matter what the conditions are, 
coughing is apt to be overdone. When nothing is raised the act 
should be avoided if possible. Active, nauseating cough mixtures 
should be discarded. Those mildly expectorant and quieting are 
to be selected. Equal parts of the syrup of ipecac, syrup of wild 
cherry, and paregoric, in such cases forms an excellent cough mix- 
ture. Many cases require less paregoric. Syrup of terebene is an 
excellent remedy for cough. The following will be found an 
extremely useful 

A— 171.— COUGH MIXTURE. 

Syrup wild cherry, 4 ounces 

Syrup ipecac, 1£ ounces 

Compound tincture cinchona, 2^'ounces 

Deodorized laudanum, 3 drachms. 

Mix. A teaspoonful as required. 

Physicians are tempted to advise consumptive patients to go 
from home to seek health. Occasionally this may prove beneficial, 
b ut as a rule the experiment proves a failure. If the same money 
is spent for extra comforts — food, clothing, and recreation — at 
home, I am inclined to believe it would do more good. If a trip 
is to be taken, go as soon as possible. Don't wait until the doctor 
has exhausted his skill. 

While consumption is not contagious in the ordinary sense, yet 
care should be used by those who have oversight of its treatment. 
All sputa should be burned ; all discharges destroyed. A healthy 



172 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

person should scrupulously avoid contamination. The important 
fact for all to remember is that tubercular germs infest the ex- 
pectorated material and if all discharges from the mouth and nose 
were burned the "white plague" would largely disappear. 

CONVALESCENCE. 

The period of convalescence is the time between the beginning 
of the abatement of a disease and the entire restoration to health. 
It is, as a rule, a period of much importance. 

Great care should be exercised in establishing the usual diet, 
habits, exposures, and daily labor after long confinement and 
bodily disease. A relapse is always dangerous, and should be 
avoided if possible. Undue exposure to cold after rheumatic or 
pulmonary affections, over-eating after stomach or bowel difficul- 
ties, or active exercise after diseases that are debilitating, are all 
to be avoided. The appetite is often far beyond what it is safe to 
satisfy. The physician should be consulted on these points, as 
much depends upon the care taken" during convalescence as to 
whether or not perfect health will again be secured. 

No strong medicines should be taken during this period. If the 
appetite needs sharpening, wild cherry bark or chamomile tea are well 
suited for this purpose. Moderate doses of qu in ine are often benefi- 
cial. Cakes, sweets, nuts, candy, and all indigestible food should 
be avoided. All medicines previously ordered by the physician 
should be abandoned, except he direct otherwise. No alcoholic 
stimulants should ever be used at this time. They are very 
seldom if ever needed. The same may be said of medicines that 
produce sleep and relieve pain. At this time the opium, mor- 
phine, chloral, and drink habits are frequently formed. Medicines, 
as far as possible, should be abandoned, and perfect health be 
permitted to establish itself. 



COUGHS. 

A cough consists of a short and violent expiration of the 
breath, the effort being to expel some irritating substance from, 
or to relieve some annoying condition of, the respiratory organs. 



CORNS. 173 

A cough may result from an almost endless variety of causes. 
At most, it is only a symptom. It is usually due to some disease 
or irritable condition of the throat, pharynx, larynx, bronchial 
tubes, lungs, or nervous system. The following are among the 
few causes of cough : an elongated uvula, enlarged tonsils, nasal 
catarrh, ear-ache, diseases of the stomach, liver, brain, or intestines. 
While it is in most instances a sign of some respiratory disorder, 
such is not always the case by any means. 

In children it is often a symptom of teething, indigestion, or 
worms. Sometimes it is only a habit. The nervous character 
of a cough is often well illustrated in church or in school ; if one 
person coughs the majority are apt to do so. The author is con- 
vinced that most people cough more or less, and that a great 
deal of unnecessary anxiety is caused by attaching too much 
importance to slight habits of coughing. 

A cough, however, is of more or less significance, as it is an 
indication that there is something wrong somewhere. If there 
is expectoration, its character is of importance. 

In the treatment of a cough the cause should always be in 
mind. The taking of cough-medicines and cough-candies is 
often a mischievous practice. First, find out why the cough 
exists, and treat the source of irritation. As a rule, nauseating 
cough syrups should be avoided. 



CORNS. 

There are two kinds of corns — hard and soft. 

Hard Corns are located on the exposed surfaces of the toe or 
foot, and are caused by the continued pressure of ill-fitting shoes. 

Soft Corns are generally located between the toes, and are 
caused by the toes being pressed in close contact, or they may 
result from lack of cleanliness. 

Corns, like many other things, can be inherited. I know a 
lady who has a very annoying corn, peculiarly situated on one 
of her toes, and has suffered with it for over thirty years. Her 
mother and her grandmother, — to use her own words, — "had the 
same corn in the same place on the same toe of the same foot," 



174 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

and her daughter is also afflicted in precisely the same way. 
These corns, or, to be suggestive, " this corn," has caused more 
than one hundred years of suffering, and apparently has lost 
none of its vigor. To presume that all this suffering has been 
the result of wearing tight shoes, to serve the dictates of pride 
and fashion, is not without its moral. 

Treatment. — There is no better application for corns than the 
" German Com Cure" to be found in every drug store, either in 
bulk or in bottles. The formula is as follows : — 

A— 174. 

Salicylic acid, 30 grains 

Collodion, \ ounce 

Extract cannabis indica, 10 grains. 

Mix. Corn cure. 

It should be applied with a camel's hair brush every night for 
several days, and after soaking in warm water the corn can be 
removed in the form of a hard scab. 

I am not prepared to say that corns are ever entirely cured. 
No matter how well they are uprooted, they have a tendency to 
grow again. Corn pads are excellent devices, and when carefully 
worn will often prevent the formation of corns; they can be 
procured at any drug store. A careful trimming of the hardened 
top from a corn will usually render it quite painless. 

Soft corns are best treated by keeping the parts clean and dry, 
the latter being best accomplished by wearing a small piece of 
absorbent cotton or lamb's wool — procurable at any drug store — 
between the toes. A piece of fine sponge may be cut to fit and 
answer the same purpose. 

The parts should be painted every day with tincture of iodine 
diluted one-half with alcohol, or with a solution of nitrate of 
silver (thirty grains to one drachm of water) every five days. 



CROUP. 

There are at least two varieties of croup, viz. : False Group and 
True Croup. 

False Croup, Spasmodic Croup, or Night Group is most common 
in children between two and seven years of age. 



croup. 175 

There is in this variety no false membrane and but little con- 
stitutional disturbance, but the local symptoms are frequently 
alarming and serious. 

Cause. — An inherited tendency is no doubt the most frequent 
cause of the disease. Some children are born croupy. Exposure 
to cold, catarrhal affections, breathing through the mouth, dry, 
mouldy, gassy, poorly ventilated rooms, and teething, may all be 
named as favoring attacks of croup. 

Symptoms. — This form of croup comes on suddenly. Perhaps 
the child went to bed somewhat indisposed and was more or less 
fretful, but went to sleep. Some time before midnight it awoke 
with a short, violent, ringing, barking, rapid cough, each inspira- 
tion being accompanied with a croupy noise peculiar to the 
complaint. The face is flushed, the pulse is rapid, and there is, 
perhaps, a slight fever. 

The attack may last an hour, more or less. When it passes 
off the child goes to sleep and seems well, and will show no signs 
of the affection until the next attack, which may be before 
morning, the next night, or it may be a week, or may never 
occur. 

The severity of the attacks and their frequency depend largely 
upon the croupy tendencies of the individual. 

Treatment. — The room should be free from dust or gas and 
the air moist and warm. If steam is generated in the room, or, 
what is better, if water is poured on quicklime, relief will be 
greatly favored. 

A warm bath will generally arrest the paroxysms at once, or, 
where this is not convenient, a hot mustard foot-bath will prove 
beneficial. 

Cold cloths applied to the neck will sometimes benefit, but in 
some instances hot applications act better. 

Emetics often afford great relief, and among the best are 

Syrup of ipecac in teaspoonful doses repeated as necessary to 
produce relief or vomiting. 
Or 

Half-teaspoonful doses of powdered alum is a deservedly pop- 
ular emetic in croup. 



176 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

True Croup, or Membranous Croup, is an exceedingly grave 
disease. It consists of an inflammation of the throat, la^nx, 
and bronchial tubes, characterized by the formation of a false 
membrane which interferes with respiration, and often proves fatal. 

Cause. — Some persons seem to have a tendency to the com- 
plaint. When it is in a neighborhood, breathing cold, damp air 
favors its spread. Boys are more liable to it than girls. Almost 
all cases of the disease occur in children between the ages of two 
and seven years, but older persons frequently have it. One 
attack guarantees no immunity from future attacks. 

Symptoms. — True croup is easily recognized. It is usually 
preceded by slight sj^mptoms of catarrh for a few days, or it may 
be of only a few hours' duration. The croup proper begins with 
a sensation of pain, uneasiness in the throat, accompanied by 
hoarseness and cough. The cough has a harsh or clanging sound, 
quite like the bark of a dog, and there is little or no expectora- 
tion. There is more or less fever. The throat is sore, and by 
the second or third day the difficulty of breathing becomes well 
marked. There are paroxysms of difficult breathing in which 
strangulation seems imminent. After a short struggle apparently 
with death, the parts relax and breathing is more easy. The 
exhaustion is usually well marked. The disease is much worse 
at night. 

The false membrane may come away in shreds or flakes, or it 
may come away as a hollow cast, shaped like the parts from 
which it was coughed up. In favorable cases it is coughed up 
in five or six days, and its ejection is followed by marked improve- 
ment. If the membrane reforms, it is an unfavorable sign. Death 
may result in from two to ten days, and where recovery takes 
place, convalescence is slow, months often elapsing before sound 
health is restored. 

Treatment. — Prompt and efficient measures should always be 
resorted to in true croup. A physician should be called in at the 
commencement of the case. 

A catarrh with a peculiar, uncommon, barking cough should 
always be carefully watched. The patient should be kept in bed, 
and the atmosphere of the room kept moist by the aid of hot 



croup. 177 

water on the stove, or what is far better, a steam atomizer may- 
be constantly used. If no stove is in the room, steam may be 
generated by placing a vessel of water over an alcohol lamp. A 
tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine placed on the surface of the 
water, every hour or less, is to be recommended ; or the vapor 
given off by pouring water on unslacked lime is extremely useful. 
The water and lime may be put in a teapot, and the spout directed 
near the patient's mouth or nostrils, or the mixture may be placed 
in a bowl and the bowl placed in bed and a sheet thrown over the 
patient. Emetics are almost always necessary, and the best one 
for general use is syrup of ipecac, which should be given every few 
minutes until vomiting is induced. Turpeth mineral (yellow sul- 
phate of mercury) is said to be the most efficient emetic in croup, 
and in some places druggists keep it done up for sale in powders, 
under the name of "Croup Poivders." One to three grains is a dose 
for a child three or four years old, to be repeated in a few minutes 
if the first dose fails to act. Powdered alum, in half-teaspoonful 
doses, stirred in a little milk, and repeated if necessary, is an effi- 
cient emetic in croup. Cloths, the size of a handkerchief, wrung 
out in hot water and applied to the throat will often prove bene- 
ficial, but cold applications for strong children with high fever 
will answer better. 

Supporting measures are often necessary, and tincture of iron, 
quinine, and chlorate of potash, especially after the first stages 
have passed, are given in most cases. It should never be forgot- 
ten that true croup is a very dangerous disease. A majority of 
children who contract it die. A fatal termination is almost inev- 
itable in children under two years. 

Tracheotomy has attracted a great deal of attention during the 
past few years in this disease. It consists of opening the wind- 
pipe in front of the neck, and below the locality covered by the 
false membrane. This admits of the free passage of air to and 
from the lungs, and bids fair to lessen the mortality in this affec- 
tion. It should not be resorted to until life is in great danger, 
and no rules can be laid down here for this operation. The 
chances are always unfavorable, and the physician should be 
allowed to use his discretion in all cases. 

12 



178 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

DEBILITY. 

Debility is a condition rather than a disease. We speak of 
General Debility as indicating an impaired condition of the 
entire system; the muscle is flabby and weak and there is a 
general loss of strength, vigor, and vital force. It is well illus- 
trated by premature old age, brought on by over-fatigue, hard 
work, exposure, or the more frequent factor, worry of mind. It 
is often the result of diseases which tax the physical force and 
weaken the powers of endurance and resistance. 

While debility is amenable to treatment, recovery should not 
be expected altogether by the use of drugs. 

The great remedies for debility are rest, good diet, recreation, 
and a change of surroundings. 

It is a grave mistake to resort to stimulants in debility. Their 
effect is only temporary, and the danger of forming a destroying 
habit is always very great. 

Quinine, arsenic, iron, and bitter tonics, are often of service. In 
their use it should be borne in mind that small doses long con- 
tinued are much more beneficial than when large doses are taken. 

Fatigue of every sort should be avoided, and, as far as possible, 
the mind should be free from care. 



DECLINE. 

The word Decline, in popular language, refers to a gradual 
failure of the powers of life. It is not exactly synonymous with 
consumption, yet most of the cases where the term is used are of 
a consumptive type. The term is much less used than formerly, 
because it expresses a condition and not a disease ; and as dis- 
eases are much more often identified now than formerly, we call 
them by their names and have less use for general terms. 



DELIRIUM — STUPOR — COMA — DELIRIUM TREMENS. 179 

DELIRIUM. 

STUPOR. 

COMA. 

Delirium consists of a wandering of the mind, and is to be 
expected in the course of diseases marked by high fever, great 
prostration, nervous excitement, or involvement of the brain. 
It may be quiet, active, fierce, or of an inanimate nature, as in 
extreme prostration and collapse. It takes the trained experience 
of the physician to gain much benefit from the state of a person's 
mind. A severe headache and fever will suffice to upset the 
equilibrium of some persons, while the mental make-up of others 
is so stable that the throes of disease seldom unsettle it. 

Stupor consists of a drowsy or blunted state of the mind from 
which it is difficult to arouse the patient. It is met with in 
severe brain diseases, in low conditions of a typhoid type, and as 
a result of narcotic poisoning. 

Coma consists of complete loss of consciousness, perception, 
and will power. The most complete forms of coma are seen in 
apoplexy. It may result from narcotic poisoning and brain 
diseases. 

These conditions always occasion alarm, and excite apprehen- 
sions in regard to the outcome of the disease. 

Delirium is more apt to occur at night. Its presence is gen- 
erally associated with high temperature, great weakness, intense 
suffering, or marked nervous disturbance. 

The treatment must always consist of an effort to remove the 
cause, and so manage the surroundings of the patient that no 
external causes exist. 



DELIRIUM TREMENS. 

Delirium tremens, mania a potu, or acute alcoholism, is always 
the result of the excessive use of alcoholic stimulants. 

Abruptly withdrawing alcohol during a debauch sometimes 
provokes it; on the other hand, continuing a debauch too long 



180 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

will produce it. The only immunity is avoiding the cause alto- 
gether. 

Treatment. — When such a condition is threatened every effort 
should be made to prevent its occurrence. A physician should 
always be summoned, as it is a very dangerous disease, especially 
if it is the third or fourth attack. 

The things to be done are : — 

1. Feed the patient, 

2. Get him quiet. 

3. Get him to sleej>. 

A few hours' sleep will cure him, and physicians employ large 
doses of bromides, chloral, digitalis, and chloroform, to produce it — 
too large for the laity to administer. 

The first attack is usually recovered from ; later attacks are apt 
to prove fatal, or end in idiocy. 

" Witnessing the agonies of this disease would prevent, it would 
seem, over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages. That anything 
should be the cause of such tortures of mind and body as alcohol 
produces in cases of this kind, should forever condemn it to the 
list of poisons. The warning may be too late for the sufferer, but 
for those who witness his agonies, the lesson is a powerful one." 



DIABETES. 

There are two varieties of this affection ; the insipid, or Diabetes 
Insipidus, and the saccharine, or Diabetes MeUitus. Both forms have 
two characteristic symptoms — an inordinate increase in the flow 
of urine, and a persistent increase of thirst. 

Diabetes insipidus is an increase in quantity of the urine, which 
is colorless and of low specific gravity. The increase amounts, in 
some instances, to fifteen or twenty quarts. Diabetes mellitus not 
only is attended with profuse urination, but the fluid is surcharged 
with sugar ; the presence of which greatly increases the specific 
gravity. Sometimes the quantity of saccharine material reaches 
two ounces to the pint. Cases are on record where the flow of 
urine amounted to six or eight gallons, or nearly one-half the 
entire weight of the patient during twenty-four hours. 



DIABETES. 181 

Cause. — Various influences may produce diabetes, such as 
exposure to cold, sudden checking of perspiration, the use of 
intoxicants. Sometimes brain or spinal diseases or injuries tend 
to produce it. It seems to be necessary that a predisposition to 
the disease exists, or these things would not produce it. The 
morbid conditions which exist in the kidneys and other organs 
are very complex, and not very well understood. Men are more 
subject to the disease than women. 

Symptoms. — As before stated, the most prominent symptoms 
are the increased urination, the great thirst, and in the saccharine 
variety of the disease, the presence of sugar in the fluid discharged. 
These symptoms are continuous, night and day. The skin 
becomes dry and harsh, and marked emaciation takes place. 
There is a feeling of emptiness, and great hunger often rivals the 
thirst. Constipation, debility, chills, irritable temper, a tendency 
to boils and carbuncles, and defective sight, with a long train of 
occasional symptoms, appear in this disease. It may last for a 
few weeks only, and recovery follow, or it may continue for years. 
The disease, however, is a serious one, and in the majority of cases, 
the duties of life often become a burden, the strength fails, and 
death results. 

Treatment. — Much more can be done by strictly regulating 
the diet than by any medicinal agents ; especially in the sugary 
form of the disease. Sugar, and vegetables containing starch, 
should be absolutely avoided. 

Green vegetables, meat, oysters, eggs, and milk, should largely com- 
pose the diet. Both kinds of potatoes, peas, beans, turnips, and 
root vegetables, should not be used. Bread made from gluten 
flour, bran, or whole ivheat, may be used, but ordinary bread 
should not be eaten. A diet of skimmed milk exclusively has been 
highly recommended. Buttermilk may be used instead, when 
procurable. 

Plain sodo\water, and the various mineral waters, may be freely 
drank. 

Moderate exercise in the open air, friction to the skin, living in 
well-ventilated houses, and attention to the secretions, are all-important 
to those having this disease. 



182 DISEASES AND OTHEIl AILMENTS. 

Saccharin has been much used as a substitute for sugar for 
diabetic subjects. One or two grains will sweeten a cup of tea or 
coffee, as its flavoring powers are about 300 times greater than 
sugar ; furthermore, it seems harmless, and there is no reason why 
its use should not be resorted to at all times, in this disease. It 
can be bought in soluble tablets, or, if these are not procurable, 
the following may be used: — 

A— 182.— TO SWEETEN TEA OR COFFEE. 

Saccharin, 30 grains 

Glycerine, 4 ounces. 

Dissolve. 

One teaspoonful of the above solution will prove sufficient 
for a cup of tea or coffee. The glycerine not only dissolves the 
saccharin, but is sweetening, and is sometimes used for this very 
purpose by persons in health. There have been many remedies 
proposed for diabetes, but no specific has yet been discovered. 
I am aware that many proprietary articles are on the market, 
but I have no faith in any of them. 

Water slightty acidulated with phosphoric acid is useful to 
quench the thirst. Iron, cod-liver oil, quinine, the various mineral 
icaiers, arsenic, and opium in small doses, have all been used with 
more or less benefit. 

Salicylate of soda, ten or fifteen grains three times a day, has been 
recommended by high authority. 



DIARRHCEA. 

Diarrhoea is characterized by excessive discharges from, or loose- 
ness of, the bowels, and is so common that it needs no description. 

Cause. — Over-eating and eating improper food, especially 
during summer months ; unripe vegetables, impure water, and 
unhealthy climate, are prolific causes of diarrhoea. 

Symptoms. — Excessive and frequent stools attended with more 
or less pain. 

The discharges may be bilious, watery, slimy, or consist of 
undigested food. These symptoms relate to simple diarrhoea. 

Treatment. — In the treatment of diarrhoea it should be remem- 



DIARRHOEA. 183 

bered that it is often only an effort of nature to get rid of offen- 
sive material. Rest in bed is often all that is necessary. If there 
is no pain, a laxative, such as castor oil or rhubarb, may be given. 

When there is pain or uneasiness some corrective, such as the 
" Sun cholera mixture" should be given. Essence of peppermint 
and essence of Jamaica ginger are popular household remedies. 
Where the trouble is due to impure water they are quite useful. 
They should not be taken habitually, however; it partakes too 
much of tippling. Ginger tea, peppermint tea and other mild cor- 
rectives, and an early resort to rest and quietness, will often cut 
short an attack. Where there is acidity magnesia should be given. 

Blue pill, magnesia, charcoal, chalk mixture, castor oil, and rhubarb, 
are all useful in this complaint. 

As a rule diarrhoea should not be checked, but sometimes it is 
necessary. The following may be used if it has been running 
for several days : — 

A— 183. 

Tincture of catechu, 2 drachms 

Paregoric, 2 drachms 

Compound syrup of rhubarb, 1£ ounces. 

Dose.— One or two teaspoonfuls every two or three hours. 

A dose of castor oil, in which is put five drops of laudanum and a 
pinch of baking soda, will often cut short an attack of diarrhoea 
if taken early. 
Or 

Eating dry wheat flour is resorted to with asserted success for 
diarrhoea and dysentery, in sections remote from medical aid. 
The cause must be removed in all cases before a complete cure 
can be effected. Bad drinking water must be avoided, unwhole- 
some food discarded, and bad sanitary conditions removed. 

Chronic Diarrhoea. — In every neighborhood there are a few 
cases of chronic diarrhoea, the origin of which can usually be 
traced to some spell of sickness or some severe exposure. Many 
cases now exist as sequels of exposure in war time. 

These cases are very difficult to cure, because it is impossible, 
as a rule, to get those afflicted to adhere to any one treatment 
long enough to receive any practical benefit therefrom. Strict 



184 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

diet, moderate exercise, and tonic, alterative, and astringent medicines, 
are useful. Faithfully following the advice of some good physi- 
cian will often result in a cure. 



DIPHTHERIA. 

Diphtheria is a constitutional disease, with a special tendency 
to the throat. It is also known as Putrid Sore Throat, Creeping 
Group. Sore TJiroat sometimes prevails as an epidemic and 
assumes a diphtheritic nature. At times it is a very serious and 
often fatal disease. Washington, the Empress Josephine, and 
Stephanie, the beautiful queen of Portugal, were all its victims. 

Sometimes it is very mild in its action, and at other times 
proves a veritable scourge, especially among children. 

Cause. — Diphtheria is highly contagious. Every possible 
means must be employed to prevent its spread. Isolation, cleanli- 
ness and a thorough disinfection are imperative. 
We know that when it gets into a town it is apt to spread more 
or less, and that when it attacks a family of children more than 
one is liable to contract the disease. The larger the family the 
more virulent seems to be the nature of the disease oftentimes. 
Through what medium it travels is often difficult to decide. But 
it does travel, and like a carnage ; it will be a good thing when 
physicians and people recognize the fact. Children are very 
liable to it, adults quite exempt. Crowding together, as in towns 
and cities, favors its development, and compact sections are often 
greatly afflicted. When it prevails in a town or neighborhood 
to any extent, the schools and churches should be closed or quar- 
antined. Climate or season influence it but little. Parents must 
not think that if they isolate their children they will be free 
from danger. As intimated above, the medium through which 
the poison travels is unknown, and strict hygienic measures 
should be used in connection with isolation. Bad ventilation, 
damp houses, and filth, are great promoters of the disease. Sani- 
tary measures are imperative when this disease prevails, and 
should be kept up for a long time after it has subsided. 

Symptoms. — The disease begins with languor and uneasiness, 



DIPHTHERIA. 185 

sore throat, swelling of the glands of the neck, furred tongue, 
constipation, thirst, and fever, which, however, may not appear for 
some days ; headache and difficulty of swallowing ; throat swollen, 
red and purple ; about the second or third day yellow, white, or ash- 
colored spots begin to form and spread in the throat, and a thick 
membrane resembling a piece of wet chamois or buckskin covers 
the parts, which are generally much swollen. 

This false membrane loosens in eight or nine days and recovery 
begins. There is, during the disease, a thin, irritating discharge 
from the nostrils. Children often have a croupous cough, and 
great difficulty in breathing. They will become livid and the 
strangulation may result in death. The croupous form of the 
disease is very fatal with children. 

The malignant form is attended from the start with severe 
headache, high fever, nausea, vomiting, great prostration, and 
offensive breath, the throat being covered with a leathery coating. 
This form of the disease is apt to prove fatal. It should be stated 
that the symptoms of diphtheria are not uniform ; in mild cases 
not many are present; in the worst cases the centres of life yield 
to the disease before the symptoms become marked. Wounds 
and abrasions of all kinds on the patient or his attendant are 
liable to become poisoned with its virus. 

Treatment. — The use of antitoxin has reduced the death rate 
from about 40 per cent, to 10 per cent, in cases of diphtheria. 
The sooner antitoxin is used the more effective it is in benefiting 
the patient. These facts place antitoxin as the chief dependence 
in this disease, indeed some assert that it is criminal not to use 
it. So great is the confidence in antitoxin that in many localities 
it is furnished to the poor at public expense. None but a phy- 
sician can correctly use antitoxin. It is not only curative, but is 
preventive of the disease. Its use therefore includes the treat- 
ment of those who already have diphtheria and those who have 
been exposed to its contagion to render them immune. Antitoxin 
is furnished by druggists in one dose packages ranging from 500 
to 5,000 units suited to various conditions and stages of the 
disease. It is needless to add that a physician should always be 
called at once where diphtheria is suspected. 



186 DISEASES and other ailments. 

If constipation exists, a purgative is proper. If the fever is 
high, sponging the body will prove beneficial. Water may be 
freely drank. Feed systematically and liberally with liquid "food, 
such as milk, beef tea, chicken broth, etc. If the patient cannot 
swallow, the doctor must aid in administering food. 

The best local application is peroxide of hydrogen diluted one- 
third with water, applied with a swab or a spray atomizer, di- 
luted, with four parts of water. Peroxide of hydrogen ranks next 
to antitoxin and should be used from the start. Sometimes ice 
bags to the neck are needed, and small pieces of ice in the mouth 
are extremely beneficial. A solution of boric acid is an efficient 
local application. " Lime water is also a good local spray. Much 
good will often result from generating steam in the room espe- 
cially the steam from slacking lime, a piece being slacked at a 
time and the steam directed to the mouth several times a day. 
The fumes of carbolic acid, oil eucalyptus or turpentine, produced 
by being put in hot water, are often beneficial. Quinine, iron 
and strychnia are often required to maintain the strength. 

The patient should be kept quiet and comfortably warm in bed. 
When convalescence takes place, care should be exercised not to 
cause a relapse by exposure. The sick room should be kept 
moderately cool and the air fresh. Plenty of fresh air is im- 
perative. All woodwork of the room should be frequently washed 
and all discharges destroyed. All clothing should be boiled and 
a thorough disinfection made, regarding which the Health Board 
should be consulted. 

If death occurs the body should be kept moist, as infectious 
material spreads more when dry. Those who handle such bodies 
should keep their mouths closed, talking should be avoided and 
cotton inserted in the nostrils and frequently renewed is advisable 
when there seems to be special malignancy. 

Care should be used during convalescence to avoid heart failure. 
Rest in bed, nourishing diet, and tonic remedies should follow 
severe cases. 



187 



DROPSY. 

Dropsy consists of an accumulation of watery fluid, from the 
blood, in the interstices of the tissues, or in some of the cavities 
of the body. 

Names are given to the various forms of dropsy to correspond 
with the location of the accumulated fluid : as hydrocephalus, dropsy 
of the head ; ascites, of the abdomen ; hydrothorax, of the chest ; 
anasarca, general dropsy ; oedema, a watery swelling of the body. 

Cause. — Diseases of the heart, lungs, kidneys, or blood vessels ; 
general debility, insufficient food, chronic diseases, chronic dis- 
charges, or anything which impoverishes or interferes with the 
flow of the blood, tends to provoke dropsy. It should not be for- 
gotten that dropsy is only a symptom of some morbid condition. 

Treatment. — There are three indications in the treatment of 
dropsy, viz : The removal of the accumulated fluid, the cure of 
the disease which causes it, and the improvement in the general 
health of the patient. 

To remove the accumulated fluid, diuretics, diaphoretics, 
purgatives, and " tapping," are made use of to suit individual 
cases. 

Oream of tartar, infusion of broom, juniper berries, digitalis, squill, 
pipsissewa, jalap, and many other remedies are prescribed. One- 
third teaspoonful doses of cream of tartar twice a day, or where 
a purgative effect is desired, teaspoonful doses of compound jalap 
powder may be used with benefit. 
Or 

One-half teaspoonful doses of fluid extract of broom, three or four 
times a day. 
Or 

Tincture of digitalis, taken in doses to suit individual cases, is 
a remedy of great utility. Sometimes digitalis in combination 
with squill will prove the best remedy that can be employed. 
Or 

Tapping is sometimes necessary, and should always be done by 
a physician. 

It is often difficult to remove the cause of dropsy. It is some- 



188 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

times due to broken down conditions of important organs, and 
does not admit of repair. 

Digitalis and nux vomica are perhaps useful in a greater number 
of cases of dropsy than any other remedies. Their careful admin- 
istration seldom fails to benefit. 

In the improvement of the general health, however, rests the 
strongest factor in overcoming dropsy. It is a symptom of debil- 
ity, no matter how serious an organic disease may co-exist. Iron 
and other tonics; out-of-door air; the best sanitary conditions; 
warm clothing, and an abundance of wholesome, easily digested 
food, should all be utilized. The feet should be kept warm and dry. 
Undue pressure at any one point should be avoided ; but gently 
rubbing the swollen limbs from below upward will prove benefi- 
cial. A soft flannel bandage carefully applied will assist in 
giving tone to the affected part. 



DROWNING. 

A human being, if submerged in water, will usually die in less 
than one minute. Some will live for a longer time, however, and 
cases are on record where life has been restored after remaining 
under water ten or even twenty minutes. Contrary to what is 
commonly supposed, learning to swim does not lessen the danger 
of drowning. The over-confidence and daring which skill in 
the art of swimming begets, cost more lives than are lost from 
not knowing how to swim. The better a person can swim, the 
more apt he is to meet death in the water. 

When a person is thought to be drowning no time should be 
lost in rescuing him by any means possible. Seconds count 
amazingly at such a time. 

When they are on shore a faithful and persistent effort should 
be made to restore them, even if they are apparently dead. Arti- 
ficial respiration, and the application of heat and friction, should 
be kept up for at least two hours, even when there are no signs 
of life. 

Restoration consists of emptying the mouth, throat, and lungs, of 
water or other substances ; bringing about respiration by keeping 



DROWNING. 189 

it up artificially, and restoring the circulation b}^ the application 
of heat and friction to the surface of the body. 

A number of plans have been published suited to cases of 
drowning, but the following is as good as any : — 

1. Remove all obstructions to breathing. Instantly loosen or 
cut apart all neck or waist bands, turn the patient on his face 
with the head down hill, stand astride the hips with your face 
toward his head and locking your fingers together under his 
belly, raise the body as high as you can without lifting the 
forehead off the ground, and give the body a smart jerk to 
remove mucus from the throat and water from the windpipe; 
hold the body suspended long enough to slowly count one, 
two, three, four, five, six, repeating the jerk more gently two 
or three times. 

2. Place the patient on the ground face downward, and main- 
taining all the while your position astride the body, grasp the 
points of the shoulders by the clothing ; or, if the body is naked, 
thrust your fingers into the armpits, clasping your thumbs over 
the points of the shoulders and raise the chest as high as you 
can without lifting the head quite off the ground, holding it long 
enough to slowly count one, two, three. Replace the body on 
the ground with the forehead on the bent arm, the neck straight- 
ened out, and the mouth and nose free. Place your elbows 
against your knees and your hands upon the sides of the patient's 
chest over the lower ribs and press downward and inward with 
increasing force long enough to slowly count one, two. Then 
suddenly let go, grasp the shoulders as before, and raise the 
chest, then press upon the ribs, etc. These alternate movements 
should be repeated ten to fifteen times a minute for an hour at 
least, unless breathing is restored sooner. Use the same regularity 
as in natural breathing. 

3. After breathing is commenced restore the animal heat. 
Wrap the patient in warm blankets, apply bottles of hot water, 
hot bricks, or anything to restore heat. Warm the head nearly 
as fast as the body, lest convulsions come on. Rubbing the body 
with warm cloths or the hand, and slapping the fleshy parts, may 
assist to restore warmth and the breathing also. If the patient 



190 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

can surely swallow, give hot coffee, tea, or milk. Give spirits 
sparingly, if at all. Place the patient in a warm bed and give 
him plenty of fresh air and keep him quiet. 



DYSENTERY. 

Dysentery is an inflammatory affection of the lower bowel. It 
may be either acute or chronic, and attacks persons of any age. 

Cause. — Perhaps no disease is so dependent upon climate as 
dysentery. Whenever or wherever heat, moisture, vegetable 
decomposition and sudden atmospheric changes are, there will be 
found more or less of this affection. Therefore, it is a hot-climate 
or hot-weather disease. In tropical climates it often becomes 
almost a scourge. In the temperate sections of our country it is 
largely confined to the months of July, August, and September. 
Sometimes it exists as an epidemic, and strict sanitary measures 
should be employed. It is often a concomitant of malaria. 
Eating unripe fruit, unwholesome food, and drinking impure 
water are often the cause of it. 

Symptoms. — Frequent desire to evacuate the bowels, attended 
with pain, griping, and straining of the lower bowel, and the 
passage of small quantities of mucus and blood. The abdomen 
is tender and sore, there is more or less fever, and if the disease 
continues, debility will result. 

Treatment. — Rest in bed is imperative in this disease. None 
but pure water should be drank. The diet should be nourishing, 
but bland. Boiled milk, or what is better, peptonized milk, sago, 
corn starch, chicken broth, and beef tea may be taken. A mild 
laxative at the very beginning should be taken. A seidlitz powder, 
Rochelle salts, Epsom salts, or a dose of castor oil, to which is 
added a few drops of laudanum, are appropriate. Perhaps the 
last named is to be preferred. 

The following is a remedy of exceptional curative power : — 

A— 190.— FOR DYSENTERY. 

Aromatic sulphuric acid, 1 ounce 

Saturated solution Epsom salts, 7 ounces. 

Mix. A tablespoonful every two liour.s until it operates. 



DYSPEPSIA. 191 

If there is much pain, one grain of morphine may be added to 
the above mixture. 

A mustard plaster, or large, warm mush poultice should be 
placed on the abdomen. 

Perhaps the best treatment for dysentery is injections of pure 
cold or warm water. About two or three pints should be care- 
fully injected into the bowel every four or six hours. The result 
is often magical. If the discharge is quite bloody a teaspoonful 
of alum should be added to the injection. To inject the water, the 
patient should lie upon the back or left side, with the hips elevated 
and the head low. The injection should be slowly introduced 
from a fountain or bulb syringe, the nozzle of which should be 
covered with vaseline. In the absence of those accustomed to 
the use of the syringe, a physician should perform the injection. 

Fifteen to 20 grains doses of powdered ipecac is a good old rem- 
edy, or the Sun Cholera Mixture after a laxative. 

For Chronic Dysentery, 15 to 20 grains of subnitrate of bis- 
muth before meals will be found excellent. 

Amebic Dysentery is a parasitic disease of the intestines and 
liver. It is feebly communicative, enters the system most often in 
drinking-water. It prevails chiefly among men in southern cli- 
mates. 

Symptoms. Slight fever, colicky pains, diarrhoea, liquid gray- 
ish, yellow or brown stools. Becomes chronic unless well treated. 

Treatment.- — Moderate amount of easily digested food, raw 
oysters, eggs, fowl, rice, and milk. Rest in bed. Medicated 
injections of quinine, creolin, etc., as ordered by the physician, 
Strict sanitary conditions are imperative. 



DYSPEPSIA. 

Dyspepsia and Indigestion are not exactly synonymous terms. 
Dyspepsia is a disease of which indigestion is only a symptom. 

Dyspepsia may be constant, or it may come on in spells, the 
patient experiencing comparative freedom from it during the 
interim. It may be due to mere functional derangement of the 



192 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

stomach or other organs, or it may be organic in its nature, 
involving structural changes in the stomach or other organs 
engaged in the digestive process. 

Gastric Catarrh, Chronic Inflammation of the Stomach, and Ulcer 
of the Stomach are common conditions attending dyspepsia. 

Chronic Catarrh of the Stomach is the most common form 
of so-called dyspepsia. 

It should be remembered that digestion is an extensive and 
complex process. The operation is not confined to the stomach. 
It consists of converting food into blood, muscle, bone, brain, 
and tissue; more than this — into thought, strength, force, and 
action. The process requires the co-operation of numerous 
organs, and is very complex. 

Cause. — Dyspepsia may result from anything that interferes 
with or irritates the digestive process. Most of the cases result 
from one of the following causes : — 

Eating or drinking too much. 

Eating or drinking improper things. 

Eating in an improper manner. 

Eating or drinking too little. 

An inherited tendency to the disease. 

Overwork. 

Weakening indulgences. 

Worry. 

Close confinement. 

Taking too much medicine. 

These things have been dwelt upon so much in ever}' form of 
literature, that it seems almost useless to comment upon them 
here. 

Eating too little is not often considered in this connection, but 
I am quite sure that a great many cases of dyspepsia owe their 
existence to a diet too scant}\ Between eating too little and 
eating too much, there is a happy medium, which the dictates 
of appetite and common judgment should regulate. Failure to 
masticate food is a prolific source of dyspepsia. The use of tonics, 
cathartics, and the so-called blood purifiers, is pernicious to the 
stomach. 



DYSPEPSIA. 193 

Symptoms. — There is no organ or part of the body that does 
not suffer when the digestion is deranged. When we consider that 
dyspepsia may result from some slight nervous disorder ; some 
habit of diet ; from a catarrhal condition of the stomach ; from 
general debility, and a thousand other things, and each cause 
bringing with it a whole train of symptoms, we must be prepared 
to expect that the disease is likely to present almost any combi- 
nation of symptoms. 

More or less pain is always experienced. As a rule it is not 
very pronounced, but always provokes discomfort. It is often 
much worse when the stomach is empty, and is of a gnawing, 
uneasy, hungry nature. Sometimes the pain is sharp and weak- 
ening. A morbid appetite is almost constant in dyspepsia. At 
times it is entirely wanting, at other times it is voracious or 
craving, and partaking of food fails to satisfy. The taste and 
appetite both fail in expressing the desires or needs of the system. 
There is often a sense of satisfaction following the act of eating, 
which is followed in an hour or two by feelings of distress in the 
region of the stomach. The stomach becomes distended with gas, 
the mind becomes clouded, and the feelings miserable. Eructa- 
tions of gas, and sour food, add greatly to the discomfort. The 
tongue is furred, large and flabby, or red and tender looking. 
Heartburn, waterbrash, nausea, and sometimes vomiting are 
natural symptoms of the complaint. Headache, of various kinds, 
is of common occurrence. Sometimes it amounts to sev.ere attacks 
of sick-headache, sometimes it is a sense of fullness in the head, 
all the finer senses being blunted. The mind is disturbed and 
befuddled, it being impossible to follow a consecutive line of 
thought, to read a book intently, to hold in mind the items of 
every-day affairs, or to concentrate the mind, as in adding up 
figures or following technical ideas. 

Attacks of biliousness, vertigo, melancholy, constipation, palpi- 
tation and sleeplessness are common experiences with the 
dyspeptic. There is often a hacking cough, with catarrhal 
conditions of the throat and nose. The so-called " liver cough" is 
more often due to stomach than to liver derangements. 

Dyspeptics are prone to mental forebodings in regard to 

13 



194 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

business affairs, and are cynical over social and moral matters. 
They are easily convinced that they are the victims of some 
serious malady. They are naturally sick. Their thoughts and 
conversation are in the line of their health. One day they will 
imagine they have neuralgia, the next they will have malaria, 
the next day perhaps nervous prostration, general debility, liver 
complaint, heart disease, decline or consumption. This fanciful 
drifting among imaginary disorders is very characteristic of 
dyspepsia. 

Treatment. — Perhaps in no disease are persons so apt to avoid 
professional advice, and take their case in their own hands, and 
manage it to suit themselves, as victims of dyspepsia. They gen- 
erally try one thing, then another, and adhere to nothing long 
enough to give it a fair test. A lady of my acquaintance some 
time ago remarked, that, " she had tried all the patent medicines 
she ever heard of except one, and was going to try that, and she 
hoped it would cure her." This was rather an exceptional case, 
but it is a custom, almost universal among dyspeptics, to migrate 
from one physician to another, and from one medicine to another, 
with a special proclivity for quacks, until the fancy for some 
new remedy becomes a habit; a custom as pernicious as it 
is expensive. 

There are but two practical, sensible plans for a dyspeptic to 
adopt in order to better his condition. One plan consists in 
doing nothing. Let the dyspeptic forget the disease, forget even 
that he has a stomach ; pay no attention to the complaint what- 
ever, eat whatever he desires, and eat all he wants, and take the 
world easy. Enter into an iron-clad contract, for at least twelve 
months, to lead a happy life ; that during that time he will not 
allude to his dyspepsia, not even in his own family ; that he will 
not count his pulse, look at his tongue, read a patent medicine 
advertisement or almanac, enter a drug store, take a dose of 
medicine (except for some other disease), test his lungs, weigh 
himself or say that he feels bad. I am thoroughly convinced 
that to thousands of suffering dyspeptics this is the most whole- 
some advice that can be given, and that in numberless cases its 
salutary effect can be proved. 



DYSPEPSIA. 195 

The other plan is to obtain an intelligent and correct knowl- 
edge of the nature of the complaint, and candidly consider the 
steps necessary to overcome it. Don't begin to do anything 
until the true nature of the disease, and the exciting causes 
which produced it are fully decided upon. When this is accom- 
plished, the treatment should begin. The disease should be 
nursed just as carefully, every little irritation be just as quickly 
counteracted, and every whim and fancy of the sensitive stomach 
as faithfully watched and attended to, as if it was a newborn 
babe. Indeed, the analogy admits of comparison. 

The clothing of the body must be suited to the season ; fresh 
air and moderate out-of-door exercise are indispensable ; the food 
must conform to the most rigid rules of diet ; the secretions must 
be carefully regulated ; the action of the skin and bowels should 
receive special attention ; the natural selections of the stomach 
should be catered to in every particular, and the mind should be 
kept cheerful and contented. A good physician should be con- 
sulted, and his advice faithfully followed. Hygienic measures of 
every kind should be carried out. 

All stimulants, tobacco, tea, coffee, bad habits, excesses of every 
kind ; late hours, ice cream, nuts, and eating between meals or at 
improper hours must be abandoned. The diet should be ample, 
wholesome, and composed of such articles as are agreeable to 
each individual stomach. As a rule, liquid foods are not appro- 
priate. The aim should not be so much to discard those things 
which disagree with the stomach, as to seek after what is relished 
and agreeable. Consult the likes, not the dislikes, of the palate. 
But little liquids should be taken at meal-time, and these should 
be neither cold nor hot. The food should be well chewed and 
insalivated. 

Such dishes as rich soups, fried foods, pork, hashes, stews, 
turkey, sweet potatoes, all starchy and sugary articles, gravies, 
sauces, desserts, pies, pastries, puddings, stimulants of all kinds, 
and uncooked vegetables, are to be avoided. Plain, substantial 
food, well cooked and of considerable variety, should be eaten. 

Water should be freely drank on rising in the morning, 
between meals, and on going to bed at night. 



196 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

The medical treatment must be of the simplest nature, 
and naturally divides itself into two parts — the treatment of 
unpleasant symptoms as they arise, and of the disease itself. If 
vomiting occurs, and some dyspeptics are so troubled, pepsin and 
pancreatin may be tried. A mustard plaster over the stomach is 
often the best remedy for nausea and sick stomach. 

When dyspepsia is due to a catarrhal condition of the stomach, 
one of the following will often prove beneficial. One may be 
tried and then another, but the dose should not exceed that 
named ; to be taken just before eating : — 

One-drop doses carbolic acid are extremely useful in some cases. 

One-drop doses Foivler's solution of arsenic. 

One-drop doses wine of ipecac. 

One-drop doses tincture of iodine. 

Five-grain doses oxalate of cerium. 

Five-grain doses subnitrate of bismuth. 

Constipation must be overcome without subjecting the stomach 
to the irritating action of purgative drugs. 

Enemas should be used in all cases, except in cases of torpid 
liver, when podophyllin is to be preferred. 

When the intestinal tract is inactive nux vomica will prove 
beneficial. In every drug store may be found pills containing 
both of these medicines, in combination with belladonna, or 
hyoscyamus, which forms a most desirable compound. They 
should be taken in laxative doses only. 

Flatulency may be relieved by — 

Five-drop doses turpentine, on sugar. 

Three-drop doses chloroform, on sugar. 

Small doses of asafcetida. 

Acidity of the stomach is best relieved by the use of charcoal 
tablets. Severe cases may call for the use of magnesia or small 
doses of bicarbonate of soda. The last two articles are not suited 
to continued use, however. It is best to prevent sour stomach by 
avoiding those things which produce it. 

Pain in the stomach and bowels may be relieved by small 
doses of essence of peppermint in warm water. 

The treatment of the disease itself with medicine requires skill 
and judgment of the rarer resort, 



DYSPEPSIA. 197 

Not one dose of medicine should be given unless the nature of 
the cause is well established in the mind. Were we to look 
within a number of dyspeptics we should witness a great variety 
of conditions. In some, the coating of the stomach would be 
found covered with mucus and slime, so that the gastric juice 
could not penetrate through into the cavity of the stomach ; again, 
the coating of the stomach would be found clean, but red, and 
inflamed ; in others, the secretions of the intestinal tract would 
be found greatly impaired ; in some would be found a disturbed 
nervous system ; and in others a worried mind, with either of 
which the stomach and other digestive organs are ready sympa- 
thizers. Perhaps the catarrhal condition of the stomach, and 
the nervous variety of dyspepsia, are the most common forms. 
Perhaps a majority of the cases of dyspepsia are due to nervous 
derangement, which manifests itself by disorder of the stomach, 
somewhat as, in catching cold, it is apt to settle in the throat 
or nasal passages. Enough has been said to demonstrate the 
complexity of the disease. 

The following remedies are much used by the profession, and 
if properly administered will relieve a large number of cases : 
A pint of hot ivater drank four times daily ; the first pint on 
rising ; the second, one or two hours before dinner ; the third, 
one or two hours before supper ; and the fourth pint at bed-time. 
A little salt added to the water will increase its efficacy. This 
treatment should be persisted in for a long time, and seldom fails 
to benefit. 
Or 

Laxative mineral water, taken early in the morning on an empty 
stomach, will be found very useful in most cases of dyspepsia. 
Or 

A teaspoonful of common salt taken in water, before breakfast, 
and a less amount before each meal, will often, but not always, 
have a very salutary effect on the digestion. 
Or 

Five grains of mbniforate of bismuth taken before meals, is 
perhaps the very best remedy where there is pain in the stomach 
accompanied with nervousness. 



198 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or 

Ten-drop doses of compound fluid extract of gentian will be 
found useful in dyspepsia, when attended with loss of appetite 
and debility. 
Or 

Ten-drop doses of dilute muriatic acid, well diluted, before 
meals, often give the most happy results. 
Or 

Liquid pepsin, liquid pancreatin, or one of the numerous 
pepsin preparations may be tried. 
Or 

One drop of Fowler's solution of arsenic before meals is excep- 
tionally useful. 
Or 

Three to five drops of tincture of nux vomica at meal-time is 
well suited to most all forms of dyspepsia. Two or three drops 
added to the hot water draughts, before alluded to, will greatly 
increase the tonic qualities of the water. 
Or 

Small doses of asafoetida will be found well adapted in hysteri- 
cal dyspeptics, and for those advanced in years. If there is 
anaemia, preparations of iron should be used, or if malaria, 
quinine and other antiperiodics. 

Dyspeptics should remember that digestion is much more easy 
to the stomach when the body and mind are neither of them 
fatigued. The morning meal should precede any active exercise, 
and a nap after dinner is to be commended. A cessation from 
work, of both mind and body, should precede and follow each 
meal. 

EAR DISEASES. 
EARACHE. 

Earache, or Otalgia, is largely confined to childhood. It con- 
sists of a very distressing pain of a boring, shooting nature, 
attended with a roaring, cracking noise. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold, especially during recovery from 



EAR DISEASES. 199 

acute attacks of disease. Decayed teeth are occasionally at fault. 
Sometimes small abscesses form, and the discharge of their 
contents gives prompt relief. 

Earache is too often overlooked in babies, who are unable to 
make known their feelings. 

Treatment. — Hot applications are beneficial. Dry heat in the 
shape of folded towels, or a hot plate wrapped in cloths will often 
relieve. 
Or 

Perhaps the best treatment consists in pouring into the ear, 
from a spoon, water as hot as can be borne — not too hot — and 
as soon as it has cooled, renew the operation. Equal parts of 
glycerine and water is better than water alone. 
Or 

A hot roasted onion enclosed in a muslin rag held to the ear is 
a popular remedy. 
Or 

A bag of hot salt, or a flannel cloth wrung out in hot chamo- 
mile, or hop tea, will be apt to relieve. 
Or 

A few drops of olive oil, with two drops of laudanum, warmed 
in a spoon and dropped into the ear, is a common remedy. 

When earache is of a neuralgic nature quinine will often 
prove curative. 

RUNNING FROM THE EARS. 

This affection, Otorrhoza, is quite common in childhood. 

Cause. — It may result as a sequel of earache, " a gathering in 
the head," scarlet fever, measles, colds, wearing cotton in the ears, 
or from a debilitated condition of the system. 

Treatment. — The ears should be kept clean. This may be 
done by gently syringing them with Castile soap and warm water 
every morning. The cleansing process should be followed by 
injecting a weak solution of alum in warm water. 
Or 

A solution of sulphate of zinc, eight grains to four ounces of 
water, or a solution of the same strength of sugar of lead. 



200 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or 

Sometimes a solution of common salt in water will effect a 
cure. 
Or 

If the odor is offensive, a solution of permanganate of potash, 
ten grains to eight ounces of water. 

All applications should be as warm as the body, and no active 
measures should be used without the advice of a physician. 

The general health is almost always impaired in this affection, 
and quinine, iron, fresh air, and in summer, seashore life, will be 
found beneficial. 

NOISES IN THE EAR. 

This affection is often annoying, especially at night. 

Cause. — It may result from a number of conditions. Among 
them are: accumulations of wax in the ear; closure of the 
Eustachian tube; anseinia; dyspepsia; constipation, and heart 
disease. 

The noises are often peculiar. 

Treatment. — Consists of removing the cause. When this is done 
the trouble will cease. If the buzzing is confined to one ear it is 
apt to be due to local causes, and a physician should be consulted. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EAR. 

Beads, beans, corn, pebbles, dirt, pencils, insects, etc., are liable 
to find their way into the ears of children. Such substances have 
been known to remain in the ears for years. Such things should 
be removed at once, and a little native ingenuity will do more than 
following any set directions. Warm soap-suds, olive oil, or glycerine 
poured into the ear will kill insects, and they will generally come 
to the surface. If not, the ear should be washed out with soap 
and water, using a syringe. Knitting needles, sticks, or sharp- 
pointed instruments should never be used in the ear. The bent 
end of a hair-pin is about the only safe article to use in the ear. 
If an extended exploration is necessary, a physician should be 
called. 



EPILEPSY. 201 

WAX IN THE EAR. 

While wax is a natural secretion of the ear-tube, and ordina- 
rily should be let alone, sometimes it becomes abundant and dry, 
interferes with the hearing and requires removing. This is easily 
done by the use of a small syringe, soap and water. The injecting 
should be gently done. After the ear has been washed out, it is 
best to drop two or three drops of glycerine or almond oil therein. 

Meddling with the ear should not be indulged in. Aside 
from washing with water and a soft rag about the orifice, it should 
be let alone, except when it becomes the seat of disease. There is 
a thin membrane across the floor of the auditory canal about 
one-and-one-fourth inches within the ear, and if it be punctured 
the hearing becomes impaired. Putting wool and cotton in the 
ear is a bad practice and is to be condemned, except in rare 
instances. 

EPILEPSY. 

Epilepsy, Convulsions, or Fits, is a disease marked by paroxysms, 
which recur at irregular intervals, in which there is sudden and 
complete loss of consciousness, attended with convulsive move- 
ments. The philosophy of a " fit " is very complex. Perhaps to 
say that it is an " explosion of nerve force within the system," 
conveys as correct an idea of its character as any expression 
could. 

Cause. — Hereditary influences are an important factor in this 
complaint. By this we do not mean that it takes fits to beget 
fits. It may be a legacy following the influence of consumption, 
syphilis, insanity, and other constitutional diseases, especially 
those involving the mental or nervous system. Among the 
immediate causes of the affection may be mentioned fright, 
injuries to the head, worms, and derangements of the digestive 
system. It should be remembered that the predisposition to the 
disease is no doubt essential, in nearly all genuine cases of fits. 

Symptoms. — It would require a volume to describe at length all 
the symptoms which result during the progress of epilepsy. Each 
individual case presents symptoms unlike other cases. Fits are 



202 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

more common in young persons, but may occur at any age. They 
may be of almost constant occurrence, or only a few paroxysms 
may occur in a lifetime. 

Sometimes the patient is aware that a spasm is coming, while 
others have no pronounced warning whatever. Most cases are 
ushered by a rapid succession of sensations beginning, perhaps, 
in the legs, or head, or vision, and from the starting point the 
" aura " develops into a feeling of terror, and the patient in an 
attempt to scream or start falls suddenly to the floor; the mouth 
foaming, the teeth grinding, the face flushed, the eyes rolling 
wildly ; the breathing is difficult and the whole muscular system is 
contracted and convulsed. Sometimes the ph} r sical torture which 
the patient apparently suffers is extreme, filling with terror those 
unaccustomed to such demonstrations. Recovery from a paroxysm 
is gradual, leaving the patient dull in mind and inclined to sleep. 

Treatment. — When a person falls in a fit, if he is subject to 
such attacks, but little need be done. Place the patient on his 
back, loosen his clothing, especially about the neck, place some- 
thing between the teeth, if he is a tongue biter, and hold the 
limbs to prevent mischief. To sleep it off is the best process 
toward restoration. 

The treatment to be adopted in order to cure the disease, 
of which the paroxysms are only a symptom, is a matter 
requiring skill and judgment of no ordinary sort. 

It is important that everything possible be done to bring the 
general health as near perfection as possible. All exciting and 
depressing influences should be avoided. Out-of-door recreation 
and pleasant mental employment are to be desired. 

The diet should be largely vegetable. It would be well to 
limit the meat diet to poultry and fish. The seashore is to be 
preferred to the mountains as a place of resort for the epileptic. 
It seems useless to mention that bathing is a dangerous exercise 
to a person subject to falling fits. All physical or mental strain 
should be avoided. 

The medical treatment, as far as my experience is concerned, 
is not satisfactory. Bromide of potash, the best remedy so far 
discovered, should not satisfy the ambition of progressive medi- 



EPILEPSY. 203 

cine ; but bromide of potash is the remedy so far, and its use has 
increased the number of cures wonderfully during the past few 
years. Although scores of remedies have been recommended 
and used for epilepsy in years past, I have so little confidence in 
them that I do not consider them worth mentioning. They may 
well be forgotten. Just here an important point is to be de- 
veloped. Epilepsy is one of those diseases which routine treat- 
ment will never benefit. No man can propose a line of treatment 
to be followed, the result of which will be successful. Too many 
physicians follow some set rules in treating this disease, and fail 
to cure. Each individual case must be intelligently studied. 
The causes of the disease must be diligently sought after. First, 
the original condition of mind or body whence such strange 
symptoms emanate. This often involves a search through intricate 
nerve and brain matter. Second, the exciting cause must also be 
ascertained. Why did the patient have three fits on Monday, 
six on Tuesday, none on Wednesday, and only a very faint one 
to-day? Will he have several to-morrow? If so, why will he 
have them ? What can be done to transform the life of Monday 
into the life of yesterday ? Is it the fault of the stomach, mind, 
or brain ? These are questions for the physician to answer, and 
their unfolding bears a very close relation to curing the disease. 

What must be done ? A certain equilibrium must be maintained 
until it becomes the habit of the patient. This involves the correction 
of the nervous system, of the circulation and of the mind. The 
best medical treatment arrests the disease in about two-thirds of 
the cases ; careless treatment is attended with much less success. 
What a mistake it is to resort to patent medicines ! What an 
error to do nothing! The treatment ordinarily bestowed upon 
this disease consists of a short trial of first one thing, then 
another. Perhaps the family physician will be first tried ; then 
somebody's " fit powders", then some " sovereign " remedy that 
may be lauded in print. Finally, the patient becomes a mental 
and physical wreck. 

The only way to secure the best medical treatment is to consult 
a competent physician, and retain him — not as an experiment, 
not for a month or for a year, but for a lifetime. It is a poor 



204 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

doctor, indeed, who will not interest himself in such cases when 
he realizes that they are a part of his permanent practice, and in 
no small degree represent his professional skill. 

As before stated, bromide of potash is the best remedy now 
known for this complaint. It must be taken, however, to the 
point of " bromism" ; that is, the system must be saturated with it. 
No set dose can be named, as each individual case requires an 
amount of the drug to suit itself. As a rule, from thirty to sixty 
grains or more per day are required to hold the spasms under sub- 
jection. While this is being done, the general health and the 
original cause of the disease are to be diligently looked after. 

Iodide of potash, in large doses, often has a curative effect upon 
the disease. 

Water should be freely drank, and if Vichy water can be afforded, 
it should be liberally used. 

Galvanic electricity, when properly used, will often be of service. 

Tonics, such as iron, quinine, arsenic and cod-liver oil are often 
useful in debilitated conditions of the system. 

Female irregularities must be avoided. It is a notion with 
some people that marriage will cure fits. Such, however, is not 
the case. It is the plain duty of parents to prohibit, if possible, 
conjugal alliances of epileptic persons, as it is always an unwise 
experiment, pernicious to both society and posterity. 



ERYSIPELAS. 

This affection, also known as St. Anthony's Fire, or Rose, is 
characterized by a circumscribed, deep rose-colored inflammation 
of the skin and under-tissues. The skin is of a peculiar, smooth, 
shining, red color, and the outline of the margin of the affected 
surface is very distinct. The redness disappears on pressure, but 
rapidly returns when the pressure is removed. 

A chill usually marks the beginning of an attack; and fever, 
headache, and constitutional symptoms are usually quite pro- 
nounced. It is most common on the face, and the swelling, 
discoloration, and consequent disfigurement are often shocking. 
When the brain becomes involved, the gravity of the disease is 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 205 

greatly increased. It reaches its height about the third day, 
and by the eighth day convalescence begins. The cause of the 
disease is not easily expressed. It is feebly contagious. Some 
persons are predisposed to it, and it seems to spring up occasion- 
ally under circumstances favorable to its development, without 
any definite cause ; one attack predisposes to future attacks. 

Treatment. — A physician should always be summoned to 
treat this disease. The patient should be isolated, placed in a 
large, well-ventilated room, and have as few visitors as possible. 
Everything should be kept sweet and clean. When the physi- 
cian is ready to leave, at the conclusion of his visit, he should be 
supplied with a basin of warm water, soap, and towel, to wash 
his hands. The most useful internal medicine for erysipelas is 
tincture chloride of iron, which must be given in large and regular 
doses. Quinine can often be combined with advantage. 

Locally, the parts may be covered with white lead ground in 



Or 

A clay poultice is said to be extremely useful, made by mixing 
fine pure clay with water until it forms a paste. 
Or 

Tincture of iodine, turpentine, oxide of zinc ointment, vaseline. 

Or the following — 

A— 205.— LOTION. 

Sugar of lead, 5 grains 

Laudanum, 2 drachms 

Water, 8 ounces. 

Apply on lint. 

Stimulants are unnecessary. A nourishing, but not stimulating, 
diet, should be secured. 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 

Many volumes of the most elaborate kind have been written, 
treating of the eye. As a rule, it is best to consult a physician, 
or, better yet, an oculist, when there is anything the matter with 
the eyes. They are too delicate and too important to be treated 
by unskilled persons. Accommodating the sight by the use of 



206 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

spectacles has become almost a perfect art. Their utility is being 
more and more appreciated, and their use adds greatly to human 
comfort and enjoyment. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE EYES. 

Ophthalmia, or Conjunctivitis, consists of an inflammation of the 
whole or part of one or both eyes. It may be acute or chronic ; 
mild or severe ; innocent, or virulent and contagious. It may be 
confined to the eyeball or a part of it, or it may involve simply 
the conjunctiva, the membrane which holds the eyelid to the 
eyeball. 

When the inflammation is confined to, or embraces the struc- 
tures of the eyeball, there is an intolerance of light, with pain, 
accompanied by a flow of tears and more or less disturbance of 
sight. 

Inflammation of the lining membrane of the lid, or Conjunc- 
tivitis, is the most common form of sore eyes. The membrane 
becomes red and swollen, and the seat of scratching, itching and 
burning pain, with great tenderness. 

Ophthalmia of the newborn is sometimes of a very virulent, 
contagious character, and requires the greatest care and attention 
to remedy it, When a babe is born with sore eyes, a physician 
should at once be called to treat it. 

Chronic granular lids is a very common complaint and often 
difficult to cure. 

The causes which lead to inflammation are very numerous. 
Disorders of the digestion, exposure to cold, injuries, straining the 
sight, unhealthy conditions of the system. When one e}^e is the 
seat of disease, the other eye, through sympathy, is apt to become 
involved in the same trouble. 

Treatment. — When the inflammation involves the internal 
structure of the eye, a solution of atropia should be dropped in 
three or four times a day. 

One grain of sulphate of atropia in one ounce of distilled water 
is of proper strength, and may be dropped into the eye with a 
medicine dropper. 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 207 

No one but a physician or oculist should undertake to manage 
diseases of the eyeball. 

Inflammation of the membrane of the eyes is best treated by 
astringent lotions ; chronic cases requiring stronger lotions than 
acute. The following lotions may be used in almost all forms of 
conjunctivitis or inflamed sore eyes: — 

Alum water, three to ten grains to the ounce. 

Sulphate of copper water, one or two grains to the ounce. 

Sulphate of zinc water, two grains to the ounce. 

Borax water, five grains to the ounce. 

Common salt, thirty grains to the ounce. 

Cold tea makes a good eye wash in many cases. 

Any of the above should be applied with a dropper three or 
four times a day. 

Washing the eyes in cold water with a soft rag is very- 
grateful to them when inflamed — sometimes hot water is even 
better. 

Chronic granular lids often require a great amount of persever- 
ance and skill. Strong solutions are sometimes necessary, but 
they should be used only under the direction of a physician. 

Sometimes physicians find it necessary to apply strong lotions, 
or perhaps solid nitrate of silver less than full strength. 

In addition to the above washes the following will be found 
useful : — 

Ten grains of boracic acid dissolved in one ounce of water is 
an excellent eye wash for any form of inflammation. 
Or 

Perhaps the very best application is solid blue stone applied 
by a physician, the parts having previously been benumbed with 
cocaine. 
Or 

An ointment made by rubbing up ten grains of yellow oxide 
of mercury in half an ounce of prepared lard. Apply once a day. 
Or 

The following is said to be the formula of an English secret eye 
ointment, which I know to be excellent for granular lids. None 
but genuine materials should be used in its manufacture : — 



208 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

A— 208.— GOLDEN EYE OINTMENT. 

Levigated red oxide of mercury, 20 grains 

Prepared lard, 3 drachms 

White wax, 1 drachm. 

Melt the lard and the wax, and add the mercury and two drops strong 
solution of potash, and stir until cold. Lightly apply on the edges 
of the lids at night. 

Cleanliness should be strictly followed, and a little vaseline 
applied to the edge of the lids will prevent adhesions during the 
night. 

STYE. 

A stye consists of a small inflammatory tumor or boil located 
on the edge of the eyelid, most often near the inner angle of the 
eye. The irritation, pain, and disfigurement are quite annoying. 

Treatment. — Hot fomentations or small poultices wrapped in 
a thin linen cloth should be applied, and the contents of the stye 
let out early. Where there exists a predisposition to styes, tonics 
are generally needed. Washing the eyes in salt water or alum 
water will tend to prevent them. I know of nothing that will 
" cut short" a stye, although I have often been consulted on this 
point. A saturated solution of boracic acid may be tried. The 
treatment named for boils applies to the prevention and cure of 
styes. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYE. 

When any foreign substance finds its way into the eyeit should 
be removed as soon as possible. If the offending substance is an 
acid it should be counteracted by an alkali, as a solution of bread, 
soda or lime-water. If the substance is an alkali the eyes should 
be washed in diluted vinegar. 

Sweet oil, castor oil, the white of egg or cream will have a sooth- 
ing effect on the eye, when such an application is needed. When 
solid or gritty substances get into the eye they can almost always 
be removed if a little ingenuity is used in the endeavor to extract 
them. Never rub the eye. Rubbing the opposite eye, however, is 
one of the best things that can be done. It will often cause the 
exit of the offending substance, if practiced as soon as the accident 
occurs. 

To remove a particle from a person's eye, first get ready ; wash 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 209 

the hands, procure a soft, clean handkerchief, or, what is better, 
twist some raw or absorbent cotton around the end of a piece of 
wood the size of a toothpick. Then look into the eye — depress 
the lower lid and then raise the upper lid — if necessary, grasp the 
eyelashes and turn the lid over a small spoon-handle or knitting 
needle — this, however, is seldom required — and gently wipe the 
offending substance from the membrane. If it has fastened itself 
into the ball of the eye, and cannot be wiped off, a physician had 
better be consulted. 

If the eye is so sensitive that the necessary interference cannot 
be borne, a few drops of a four per-cent solution of cocaine dropped 
into the eye will so destroy the sensitiveness that any foreign 
substance may be removed. A camel's hair brush may be used to 
wipe the eye ; or the edge of a piece of letter paper will be likely 
to remove the substance. Remember that the eye is very easily 
injured. 

Eye-stones and flaxseed are both useful when dirt is in the eye, 
or such things as cannot be easily found. The eye-stones should 
be dipped in new milk before inserting. Bathing the eye in warm 
water will suffice as after-treatment. 

impaired and perverted vision. 

Impaired Vision, Weakness of the Eyes, Near-sightedness, 
Far-sightedness, Cataract and Glaucoma, are diseases of the 
eyes requiring the services of an oculist. 

When spectacles are required — and they should not be worn 
unless they are required — they should be fitted to the eyes by a 
person skilled in the art of optics. The purchasing of spectacles 
at grocery and dry goods stores is a pernicious practice far too 
common. 

Defective sight should always be remedied, as it embarrasses 
the acquirement of knowledge, and prevents the full enjoyment 
of life. 

CROSS-EYES OR SQUINT. 

This affection, known as Strabismus, consists of a failure of the 
eyes to work in harmony with each other. One looks one way 
and the other another way. When the eyes are turned inward 
14 



210 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

the affection is termed cross-eyes, or convergent ; when turned out- 
ward, it is termed divergent strabismus. One or both eyes may be 
affected. A slight deviation is called a cast in the eye, or cock-eye. 

Cause. — It may be either inherited or acquired. It may be the 
fault of the muscles, or it may have its origin in the brain or 
nervous system. Keeping a child in a strong light, especially, 
allowing it to lie exposed habitually to a strong light on one side, 
has a tendency to cause it. It may be temporary or permanent. 

Treatment. — A physician should always be consulted, and a 
surgical operation is often necessary to remove the deformity. To 
forego attention to such matters is unpardonable negligence. 
Sometimes it can be cured by wearing spectacles made of dark 
cardboard with apertures through it, so that only a normal posi- 
tion of the eyes will bring objects into view. If it is the result of 
nervous disturbance, perhaps by the proper remedies no opera- 
tion will be necessary. The operation for squint is painless, and 
easily performed by an oculist. 

INGROWING EYELASHES. 

Some persons, more especially those who have suffered with 
inflammation of the eyes in early life, are annoyed by ingrowing 
eyelashes; that is, some of the hairs turn inwardly. When 
this takes place, it becomes a painful annoyance, causing great 
irritation of the eyeball, and the act of winking keeps up a constant 
pricking and scratching sensation. 

The treatment consists of grasping the hairs, one by one, with a 
pair of tweezers, procurable at any drug store, and gently, but 
deliberately, pulling them out, roots and all. The hairs must 
not be broken off, as the stump will only increase the irritation. 



FAINTING. 

Fainting, also known as syncope or swooning, consists of an 
entire loss of sensation and motion, a great weakening and 
sometimes an entire suspension of breathing, and of the pulsa- 
tions of the heart. It is less sudden than an epileptic fit. A 
person who feels " fainty " may often avoid the complete swoon, 



PAINTING. 211 

by the use of a smelling bottle, or fan ; by rushing to the fresh 
air, or by lying down. 

Cause. — The conditions which cause liability to faint are: 
loss of blood, a weak or diseased heart, debility, and weakness 
induced by any disease. Some persons are inclined to faint at 
the first sight of human blood. This seems to bear no relation 
whatever to the general health ; and there is no way to overcome 
it, except by determination, will-power, and experience. 

Haller, who was one of the prominent physicians of his age, 
and who was professor of surgery for nearly twenty years, never 
performed a single operation on a living subject during that 
time, because of his inability to look at human blood. 

The immediate causes of fainting are — warm, close atmos- 
phere; loss of blood; sudden emotion; sitting up, or standing 
when extremely weak ; the sight of blood ; sudden shock ; intense 
pain ; etc. 

Treatment. — When a person feels faint, he should seek 
fresh air, take a drink of cold water, use the smelling bottle, lie 
down, or lean forward as far as possible ; any of these measures 
will probably prevent swooning. 

If a person has fainted, he should at once be placed in a 
recumbent position ; the clothes loosened, and cold water forcibly 
sprinkled in the face ; fresh air admitted, or a fan used. After 
the patient is sufficiently restored, a drink of cold water should 
be given. 

In ordinary cases, this is all that is necessary. Should a 
patient be very sick, or extremely weak, as from the loss of 
blood, a physician should be summoned. 

Very small quantities of brandy, whiskey, or aromatic spirits 
of ammonia may be given where restoration is incomplete. 
Vinegar, smelling salts, or camphor, may be held to the nostrils ; 
or the face may be bathed in spirits, bay rum, cologne, or vinegar. 

Holding a bottle of strong ammonia to the nostrils of a person 
who is unconscious, is a dangerous procedure. It should never be 
done. A few drops of ammonia may be put on a handkerchief, 
and held to the nostrils with great benefit. 

It is significant to state that fainting is not so fashionable 
as formerly. 



212 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 



FELON. 

A felon consists of a slow, destructive, painful, inflammatory 
abscess or swelling of a finger or thumb. When mild it is called 
"Flesh Felon," when severe and deep "Bone Felon." They may 
result from injury, but those that have come under the observa- 
tion of the writer have principally been due to the fact that they 
"run in the family." Some persons are particularly given to 
them ; the least bruise or penetration of the fingers by splinters 
or irritating substances, tending to produce them. Sometimes 
persons are met whose fingers are distorted and crippled, the 
result of this disease. 

Occasionally a felon is quite superficial, but the majority involve 
the deeper structures and, unless properly treated, affect the bone. 

Symptoms. — The first symptom is usually a decided pain on 
the palm side of the finger, which seems to come from the bone. 
The pain increases, with swelling. The pain is worse at night, 
and in two or three days becomes intense, and — unless relieved 
by the physician — life, for the time being, is a burden. 

Treatment. — Hot poultices should be freely applied for the 
first day or two, when a physician should open it to the bone. 
This will afford relief. The parts should again be poulticed and 
kept thoroughly clean. If the felon is not lanced, the probabilities 
are that intense pain will continue for one or two weeks, and the 
inflammation and swelling become great ; the tissues suffer dis- 
integration and result in deformity or perhaps the loss of the end 
of the finger. Sometimes a felon takes months to run its course. 

Among things suggested to "back" a felon are a brisk cathartic; 
50 per cent, ichthyol ointment rubbed in; turpentine applied on 
lint or absorbent cotton ; holding in strong lye or applying a strong- 
solution of nitrate of silver or iodine. Flaxseed poultices, anti- 
phlogistine or cataplasm of haolin are perhaps equally effective. 

Palmar Abscesses, which are quite similar in their nature to a 
felon, sometimes take place in the palm of the hand. They are 
usually the result of bruises or a straining exercise of the parts. 
They are slow in action, painful, and quite destructive, sometimes 
burrowing their way until the palm of the hand becomes honey- 



FETID AND SWEATY FEET. 213 

combed with the ulcerative process. A physician should always 
be consulted early, and his advice faithfully followed. The treat- 
ment is quite similar to that of felon. 



FETID AND SWEATY FEET. 

This is a characteristic misfortune of some people. A writer 
says : " It is not owing to lack of cleanliness, though this accusation 
is ever laid at the door of the unfortunate sufferers. The disturbed 
secretions of the skin may be at fault, and these must be changed 
ere we can look for any permanent amendment." The fetor is 
often connected with disease elsewhere, and in all cases it is due 
to some abnormal condition of the secretions. Excessive perspira- 
tion and neglect are usually the immediate cause of the condition. 

Treatment. — The feet should be kept clean and dry. They 
should be washed night and morning, and bathed in the following. 
If the cologne is too expensive, water may be substituted : — 

A— 213.— LOTION. 

Cologne, £ pint 

Tannic acid, % ounce. 

Mix. 

Cork insoles should be worn and the stockings changed daily. 
The feet should not be dressed too warm; cotton rather than 
woolen stockings, and shoes rather than boots, are to be preferred ; 
rubbers are to be worn as seldom as possible. 

A strong solution of alum, or of baking soda, will be found useful 
to lessen perspiration. 

A solution of 'permanganate of potash, fifteen grains to the pint, 
will remove the odor ; or a few drops of carbolic acid added to the 
foot-bath will answer the same purpose. 

The following powder may be dusted over the feet night and 
morning with excellent results : — 

B— 213. 

Salicylic acid, 1 drachm 

Boracic acid, 2 drachms 

Powdered starch, 2 ounces. 



214 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or the following is a very effectual 

A— 214.— ASTRINGENT LOTION. 

Burnt alum, 1 drachm 

Boracic acid, 1 drachm 

Rose water, 2 ounces. 

Mix. Apply with sponge, without rubbing, every night, just after the 
stockings are removed and while the feet are yet moist. 

Or the following will be found excellent for chronic cases : — 

E— 214. 

Carbolic acid, 5 drops 

Burnt alum, 1 drachm 

Starch, 1 ounce 

Talcum 3 drachms 

Oil of lemon, 10 drops 

Mix. Sprinkle on feet and hands, and in stockings and gloves. 



FEVERS. 

The term fever is applied to that condition of the body marked 
by an elevation of the temperature, and usually by an increase in 
the frequency of the pulse. 

Fevers are divided into various classes: Idiopathic, when 
arising without any obvious local cause, and Symptomatic when 
dependent upon some local irritation or inflammation. 

Specific fevers, such as typhoid, scarlet, malarial, etc., are due 
to some specific cause, and exhibit phenomena characteristic of 
the source upon which they depend. 

Cause. — The causes that tend to produce fever are extremely 
numerous. Deranged nervous conditions, the presence of poisonous 
substances in the blood, or a perverted functional activity of 
the various organs of the body, are all liable to induce a fever 
of more or less severity and duration. Slight derangements of 
the digestion often cause a high fever in young children, and 
older persons are frequently thrown into severe, but usually 
temporary fever by slight ailments. 

Symptoms. — The most characteristic symptom of fever is a rise 
of the bodily temperature. The use of the clinical thermometer 
has rendered the diagnosis of the bodily temperature one of the 
easiest and most acurate procedures connected with medicine. 



FEVERS. 215 

The average normal temperature of the sheltered portions of 
the body is about 98.6° Fahr. A rise of 1° above the normal 
usually indicates some disease. In decided fever the temperature 
ranges from 100° to 106°. If it remains long above 106°, the 
disease is quite serious, and if it rises above 107°, the condition 
of the patient is extremely critical. 

Until the invention of the clinical thermometer, the pulse was 
considered the most accurate test of a fevered condition. The 
pulse, however, is not to be depended upon, as it varies greatly 
in different individuals. 

The average number of heart beats is from sixty -five to seventy- 
five per minute, and as a general rule the number of beats increases 
about ten for every degree of rise in the temperature. The 
trained physician learns other things besides the number of 
beats simply, by feeling the pulse. 

The tongue is usually more or less coated, and in some of the 
continued fevers it becomes greatly changed in appearance, and 
to a great extent indicates the progress of the disease. 

During the early stages of fever there is a feeling of lassitude, 
weariness and weakness ; pain in the back and limbs, headache 
and depression of spirits ; chilly sensations, loss of appetite, often 
nausea and thirst; sometimes delirium accompanies the phe- 
nomena. 

A fever may last for a very short time only, or it may continue 
for weeks ; it may rise and fall in its progress, or it may intermit 
entirely at certain intervals. 

Treatment. — Much can be done — and it should always be 
done — besides giving drugs, in the treatment of fevers. The 
patient may drink freely of cold water ; sometimes warm drinks are 
more appropriate. The food should be very light ; the air of the 
sick room should be kept fresh and pure. Sponging the body in 
tepid water or with vinegar and water is extremely grateful, and 
would, if practiced several times a day, modify the force of fevers 
generally. Most of the so-called sponging in fevers is very im- 
perfectly done. A real sponge should be used in the procedure ; 
it should be only sufficiently wet to leave a thin film of moisture 
over the skin, which cools the patient by its rapid evaporation, 



216 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

and does not wet the bedclothes. When tepid water fails, cold 
water or even ice water may be used. A cloth may be wrung out 
in cold water and frequently renewed as it absorbs the bodily 
heat. The body, the lower limbs, and in many cases the spine also, 
should be included in the process. If constipation exists, an 
enema as often as necessary will prove beneficial ; or a cooling 
laxative, such as a seidlitz powder or solution citrate of magnesia, 
is usually administered at the beginning of most fevers. Lemon- 
ade is very refreshing to a fevered patient ; and water acidulated 
with vinegar is sometimes employed as a substitute. 

Perhaps, for general purposes, sweet spirits of nitre and tincture 
of aconite are the most appropriate remedies we have for fever. 
Half-teaspoonful doses of nitre or three to five-drop doses of the 
aconite every two' or three hours, in connection with other appro- 
priate remedies, are all that need be given. 

There are many new remedies being used by the profession, 
the chief of which are antifebrin, antipyrin, phenacetin and aceta- 
nilid ; but these substances are unfit — totally unfit — for popular 
use. 

Tablespoonful doses of spirits of mindererus every two or three 
hours are a very useful fever mixture. Allowing small pieces of 
ice to dissolve in the mouth is very grateful to a fever patient. 



INTERMITTENT, REMITTENT AND PERNICIOUS FEVERS. 

(See Malaria.) 



SCARLET FEVER. 

Scarlet fever, and Scarlatina, it should be remembered, are 
exactly the same thing. Many people suppose that these are 
two diseases, somewhat similar ; one, the more severe of the two, 
being scarlet fever, and the other, a rather unimportant affection, 
being scarlatina. This, however, is not true ; scarlet fever is 
scarlatina, and scarlatina is scarlet fever. There is a great 
difference in the severity of the disease in different individuals ; 
also, in different epidemics, and of the same epidemic at different 
times. 



SCARLET FEVER. 217 

Cause. — Scarlet fever is a special poison, the character of which 
is but little known. It is contagious, but not so much so as some 
other diseases. The poison, as far as communication is concerned, 
is chiefly in the scales which come off in great numbers during 
the latter part of the disease and during convalescence. The 
disease will live in these scales for months, and carry contagion with 
them. It is of absolute importance that a thorough disinfection 
and renovation follow every case of scarlet fever. Good authority 
claims that these scales will retain the power to transmit the 
disease for a full year. 

Scarlet fever is a disease of childhood. About one-half the 
deaths resulting from it take place in children from two to five 
years of age ; one-fourth between five and ten, and less than 
one-tenth after the tenth year. Children under two and over 
ten years are quite exempt from it, and adult life enjoys compara- 
tive immunity from it. 

When we realize what a scourge it is to young children 
between the ages of two and ten years — and especially about the 
fourth or fifth year, — we should endeavor to keep children away 
from it. Indeed, it is criminal to carelessly expose them. There 
may be some excuse for allowing a child to contract the mumps, 
measles, or whooping cough , because these diseases are apt to come 
at some time in almost every one's experience ; and childhood, 
perhaps, is the best time to have them, for to have them once is 
future exemption, but with scarlet fever the case is different. 
If a child does not have the fever before it is six years of age, 
it gradually becomes less and less liable to have it. If it arrives 
at ten years, the chances are very much in the child's favor ; 
at fifteen years, the probabilities are it will escape altogether, and 
at twenty to contract it, is a rare exception. 

Patients should always be isolated, and other children kept 
away from them. This can usually be done, even in the same 
house. Cleanliness, disinfection, and avoidance of transmission 
of the disease on the family clothing, sweeping and cooking 
utensils, etc., should be strictly observed. Bad drainage, and 
faulty sanitary conditions, greatly favor its spread in a town. 



218 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Symptoms. — About five days after exposure the disease begins 
with lassitude, headache, pains in the limbs, and sometimes 
nausea, vomiting, and chilliness ; followed by fever and sore 
throat. On the second day the fever is high and the eruption 
appears first on the neck and face, and in ten or twelve hours 
spreads over the whole body. It is of a scarlet or brick-red hue, 
and uniform in appearance. If looked at closely it will be found 
to consist of very minute points, uniformly and closely placed. 
The skin is somewhat swollen, hot and dry, and the patient feels 
a sense of burning. The fever is high, the tongue is coated, and 
has a peculiar " strawberry " appearance. The tonsils are swollen 
and covered with spots. About the fifth day the eruption begins 
to fade, and at the end of the week it is gone, the fever abates and 
recovery begins. The patient is usually greatly reduced in flesh 
and strength. 

Several varieties of scarlet fever are recognized : — 

1. Simple or uncomplicated. 

2. Throat variety, also called anginose or putrid sore throat 

3. Malignant ; in which the shock is so great that the patient 
sinks before the symptoms become developed. 

4. Latent, where the usual symptoms are not manifest. 

In the uncomplicated variety, called Scarlatina Simplex, the 
disease runs an even course, and is attended with no serious 
symptoms. The fever is wanting or moderate, the constitutional 
disturbance is only slight, and the patient may not be confined to 
the bed. 

In the throat variety, known as Scarlatina Anginosa, or putrid sore 
throat, the force of the disease is centered on the throat and nose. 
The inflammation is intense and the throat is covered with a false 
membrane, the breath is sometimes very offensive ; the disease may 
destroy the sense of hearing or of smell, and occasionally the eyes 
are involved. As a rule, some bad result remains as a sequel of 
this variety. 

The malignant variety, or Scarlatina Maligna, is attended from the 
first with sinking vitality, the usual symptoms often failing to 
assert themselves. The eruption may not develop, or if it appears, 



SCARLET FEVER. 219 

is apt to strike in again. There is extreme depression and 
coldness. Death sometimes occurs within a few hours, but more 
often at the end of a few days. 

Treatment. — The most careful and intelligent medical aid 
should be secured. There is no fixed treatment of this disease. 
All that the best skill can do is to endeavor to ward off bad 
symptoms and properly treat them when they arise. In all 
varieties, a purgative, such as Epsom or Rochelle salts, should be 
given at the start. When the fever is high, plenty of cold water 
should be given, and if the throat is much inflamed, small pieces 
of ice held in the mouth will often greatly relieve. 

Sponging the body in tepid water will modify the fever, and for 
the irritation and itching which accompany -the eruption, the 
body should be rubbed with lard, fat bacon, vaseline, cocoa butter, 
goose grease, or cold cream. 

The diet should be liquid, and milk should be the main depen- 
dence ; beef tea, mutton tea, chicken-broth, etc., all may serve a good 
purpose. If there is marked weakness the diet should be liberal. 

The patient should, if possible, occupy a large, well-ventilated, 
moderately warm room ;. no furniture more than necessary should 
be allowed, and there should be no carpet on the floor. 

Vinegar may often be used to advantage ; applied to the head, 
in headache; added to water for sponging in fever, and some- 
times to acidulate water to be drank. Sweet spirits of nitre, tincture 
of aconite, or spirits of mindererus, may either one be used when 
the fever is high. 

If the ears become painful do not use oil and laudanum, but 
notify the physician. 

The nose, mouth and ears should be kept clean and antiseptic. 
The best spray for the nose and throat is peroxide of hydrogen 
diluted with two or three parts of water. Alkaline solutions, it 
should be remembered, dislodge nasal accumulations. This is why 
alkaline antiseptic solution, Dobell's solution or a solution of bi- 
carbonate of soda, 15 grains to the ounce, make excellent nose 
and throat cleansers. All apparatus, receptacles and cloths used 
about the patient are contaminated and must be sterilized. 



220 DISEASES AXD OTHER AILMEXTS. 

A solution of boric acid makes an excellent gargle. A solu- 
tion of chlorate of potash or diluted tincture of iron are also often 
used as a gargle. In the severe forms, when the extremities are 
cold and the circulation impaired, apply hot water bottles, bags of 
hot salt or mustard plasters to the extremities. 

Scarlet fever may cause enlarged glands, swelling of the joints 
or inflammation of the ears, but the most frequent sequel is dis- 
ordered kidneys, causing dropsy and other symptoms. 

To relieve the kidneys of diseased material large quantities of 
pure water should be drank. If the available drinking water is 
not soft and pure, distilled water should be procured or a bottled 
water such as Poland or Cele? tins Vichy may be used. 

Among the remedies used to prevent or modify dropsy are 
digitalis, cream of tartar, Basham's mixture and promoting the 
action of the skin. Attendants should wear a gown and cap over 
their clothes and remove them whenever they leave the sick room. 

Much has been printed in the newspapers and magazines in 
regard to the power of belladonna to prevent scarlet fever, and I 
have often sold it for this purpose. I do not see any reason why 
it should have the least influence, and the profession has aban- 
doned its use for this purpose almost altogether. Some years ago, 
during an epidemic, a gentleman asked me what was the best 
thing to prevent scarlet fever. I told him that belladonna was 
used internally sometimes, and gum camphor, carbolic acid and 
asafcetida were being used on the person and about the house to 
keep the disease away. He said, " I will try them all," and he 
procured a quantity of each and used them as he was told, yet 
his child, a boy five years old, contracted the disease. During 
epidemics I have always sold such articles as prophylactic, but 
failed to observe any benefit. 

I make mention of this to emphasize the fact, that avoiding 
contact is the only preventive, and it should be faithfully observed. 
The so-called preventive medicines are unworthy of any confi- 
dence whatever. 



TYPHOID FEVER. 221 

TYPHOID FEVER. 

Typhoid fever, also called Slow Nervous or CommonContinued Fever, 
is quite prevalent in the United States, especially during the 
summer and fall months. It prevails at times as an epidemic. 
The Mountain Fever of the West is practically the same as typhoid 
fever. 

Many people confound the term " typhoid " with typhoid 
fever. Typhoid fever is a distinct disease, with definite 
morbid conditions, which may be expected to be present in all 
cases ; but physicians often use the term " typhoid " to designate 
any low state, such as is sometimes seen in pneumonia, hence, 
typhoid pneumonia, etc. 

Strictly speaking, typhoid is a continued fever of low type, due 
to a special poison, somewhat contagious, and lasting from three to 
six or eight weeks, or longer. While it invades the whole system, 
the disease centres in the bowels, where ulcers form, and where 
danger to life largely exists. 

Cause. — The cause of typhoid fever is due to decomposition, 
especially of animal matter. The poison is in the discharges 
from the bowels, and is often carried by bad drainage into wells 
and drinking water, or it may be carried in milk from farms to 
remote points in cities. All discharges from a typhoid fever patient 
should be carefully destroyed. 

Anything that depresses the health, such as foul air, dampness, 
bad drainage, fatigue, anxiety, etc., has a tendency to produce it, 
When other conditions are favorable to the disease. 

Age is a strong predisposing cause, half the cases occurring in 
persons between eighteen and twenty-five. Few persons under 
ten and over forty have it ; and rarely any over fifty. It very 
seldom attacks the same person twice. 

The subjects of drainage and hygiene are very important in 
preventing this disease. 

Symptoms. — After a supposed period of about two weeks 
following exposure to or contamination by its influence, there 
are, as premonitory symptoms, loss of appetite, chilliness, furred 
tongue, and, perhaps, headache, with a decided disinclination to 



222 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

either mental or physical exertion. The commencement of the 
fever is quite gradual ; it does not get to its height for four or five 
days, and in this differs from most fevers. Sometimes there is a 
chill at the beginning. There is generally bleeding at the nose, 
a slight cough, and considerable weakness. As the fever rises, 
the patient is forced to take to his bed ; he is thirsty, and the 
tongue becomes coated, dry, and cracked. At night he is 
wakeful and may be delirious. 

All this takes place during the first week, and at about the end 
of that time the abdomen swells, and there is more or less 
diarrhoea, which continues throughout the case. The condition 
of the bowels has much to do with the severity of each individual 
case, as they are the seat of the disease, the diarrhoea in a 
measure indicating the extent of the ulceration. If the diarrhoea 
is limited, the disease is apt to be mild ; if profuse and unhealthy, 
it denotes a more serious case. 

The face is dull, and th<> hearing often affected. During the 
second week, a few small, rose-colored spots appear on the 
abdomen, but not on the face or extremities. They are some- 
what faint, and disappear when pressed upon, but the color 
reappears when pressure is removed. 

About the third week, the patient usually begins to recover, 
but the disease may be prolonged to six, eight, or ten weeks, or 
longer. 

The patient becomes very much emaciated, and recovery is 
slow, but the u^ual health is finally regained. The mind may be 
feeble and the hearing dull, but will both recover. About one 
case in twenty terminates fatally. When death takes place, it is, 
as a rule, due to exhaustion, internal hemorrhage, or from the 
ilcers eating their way through the bowel. 

Treatment. — Do not expect the physician to cut the disease short. 
It will surely run its course, and all that can be done is to safely 
conduct the patient through its various stages. A physician 
should see the patient daily, from the start, if possible. 

Good nursing and systematic feeding are of more consequence 
than any medicine so far discovered. 

Diet is of great importance. An authority on this subject 



TYPHOID FEVER. 223 

says : " A marked exception to all rules of diet must be made in 
the case of typhoid fever, in which disease there is, as a necessary 
part of the process, ulceration of the mucous membrane of the 
small intestine. This lesion practically prohibits the use of any 
solid food from the time the true nature of the disease manifests 
itself, until some time after the temperature has become normal. 
The length of time is greater in cases in which there has been 
extensive intestinal lesion, and solid food should only be resumed, 
in this disease, after consultation with a physician. A perforation 
of the bowel — a serious, and usually fatal accident — may follow 
neglect of this precaution." Yet the patient must be fed, and 
fed well. Milk is the most available and appropriate food during 
typhoid fever. It should be pure, fresh, and sweet. Oatmeal 
gruel, toast-water and rice-water, may be given during the first 
three or four days, but after this milk should be the principal 
food. It should be given in doses of a wineglassful, or more, 
every two or three hours. This may be alternated with a wine- 
glassful of beef tea, or chicken broth. Never give much food at 
a time. It is necessary, in many cases, to feed patients during 
the night. The powers of life are more apt to fail during the 
night, and where great weakness prevails, the patient must be 
systematically fed. If he is asleep, he must be aroused to partake 
of food. 

Lime-water added to milk renders it more acceptable to the 
stomach, and should be used when occasion requires. Peptonized 
milk, and beef tea, are extremely valuable additions to the diet 
of the typhoid fever patient. Care and diligence in matters of 
diet must be perseveringly given all through a case of typhoid 
fever. 

There are, no doubt, cases which require stimulants. Their 
administration should always be carefully directed by the attend- 
ing physician. They are seldom required before the end of the 
second week ; in most cases, not at all. The medical treatment of 
typhoid fever is not definitely fixed. Diet and good nursing are 
of more importance than medicine. Only mild laxatives should 
be given at the outset. A teaspoonful of castor oil, is generally 
sufficient. Ice may be allowed to melt in the mouth to quench 



224 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

thirst. Refrigerants, such as spirits of mindererus, or the mineral 
acids, are useful. Two grains of quinine every six hours, in 
powder form, or suspended in syrup, is good practice. Cold 
applications to the head will relieve headache. When the skin is 
dry and hot, it should be sponged, a portion only at a time, with 
deodorized alcohol and water. Sleep can often be secured by 
sponging the body in the evening. If the abdomen is very tender, 
large, hot mush poultices, to which is added one-fourth part 
powdered mustard, may be applied. 

Turpentine in five-drop doses is much used when the abdomen 
is swollen. 

Unless the diarrhoea is profuse it is not best to check it. 



TYPHUS FEVER. 

This disease is also known as jail fever, hospital fever, camp fever, 
ship fever, spotted fever. 

Cause. — Crowding together, as in hospitals, and on shipboard, 
is unquestionably the cause of this disease, especially when the 
food is unwholesome or deficient in quantity. Cold weather, the 
bad air of ships or hospitals, with bad ventilation, are liable to 
generate it. 

It is somewhat contagious. There is not much danger of 
contracting it, if cleanliness be thorough. It resembles typhoid 
fever very much, and it is often very difficult to decide between 
them in diagnosis. 

Symptoms. — Loss of appetite, headache and lassitude, resulting 
in a chill, either light or severe, followed by fever, in which the skin 
is dry, the pulse rapid, the mind dull, and the patient weak and 
drowsy; the face is flushed, the eye injected, and the odor of the 
body extremely unpleasant. 

About the fifth day a coarse, red eruption occurs, which spreads 
all over the body. This eruption is not always marked. The 
pulse becomes weak, the tongue dry, dark and covered; the 
bowels remain constipated. The disease often terminates in 
death before the end of two weeks. If the end of the third 
week is survived the patient is apt to recover. Complications, 



YELLOW FEVER. 225 

such as kidney difficulties, pneumonia, erysipelas, or gangrene 
sometimes occur, caused by neglecting to change the position of 
the patient. If recovery takes place, it is complete, the general 
health being benefited. 

Treatment. — "With good treatment, nine cases out of ten recover. 
Good nursing, cleanliness, thorough ventilation, and disinfectants, 
are very important. Special attention should be paid to the 
urine, and the physician notified if its passage becomes inter- 
fered with. The diet should consist of a liberal supply of milk, 
and the patient may drink freely of cold water. The bowels should 
be moved occasionally. Stimulants are sometimes necessary. 



YELLOW FEVER. 

Yellow Fever is a hot weather disease of low, flat localities and 
hot climates, and is almost entirely confined, in this country, to 
the Southern States. It is a disease of cities and towns, and 
prevails much more severely along river banks and near the sea. 

Cause. — Perhaps due to a microscopic vegetation produced by 
prolonged heat, moisture, and decomposition. There must exist 
additionally certain climatic conditions favorable to its develop- 
ment, as it prevails only in localities of its own selection. 

Symptoms. — Begins with an abrupt, sometimes indistinct chill, 
which is more apt to come on during the night, followed by 
intense pain in the legs, back, and head. The fever is not high, 
nor is the pulse very rapid. The eyes are injected and brilliant, 
the forehead flushed, the skin is hot and dry, and the thirst is 
extreme. The stomach is tender, and there is more or less 
vomiting. The bowels are constipated, and the discharge apt to 
be offensive. 

At the end of three days there is a lull in the disease, which 
may mean that convalescence is taking place and recovery may 
result. The eyes remain brilliant, the yellowness of the skin 
becomes marked, and the stomach remains tender and irritable. 
The patient feels better, sits up, and may leave his bed. At the 
end of about twelve hours, more or less, the critical period arrives ; 
if favorable the patient goes on to recovery ; if not, collapse, black 

15 



226 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

vomit, prostration, and, in the majority of cases, death ensues. 
During this stage the debility becomes great, the pulse irregular 
and rapid, the skin yellow or bronzed, the tongue brown. The 
stomach intensely irritable. 

Black vomit, so characteristic of this disease, now occurs, which 
consists of blood altered by contact with the contents of the 
stomach. With variable symptoms of dissolution, death takes 
place from the fourth to the sixth day. About one-third of yellow 
fever patients die, and where collapse and black vomit super- 
vene, a large majority prove fatal. 

Treatment. — There is no specific for this disease. The only 
preventive is to migrate beyond the limit of its ravages. It has 
a tendency to appear in certain spots. Even in the cities and 
towns of the South, it is often very circumscribed in its limits. 
It is not contagious from one person to another. It will domicile 
itself in a section of a city or town, and be a veritable concentrated 
scourge; those within the limits must either leave, or probably 
suffer an attack, while those outside are not in any particular 
danger, unless they infringe upon the infected territory. 

Police interference can do more than physicians can to stay the 
progress of this disease. 

Frost kills the poison of yellow fever. 

It is hardly practicable to give the treatment of this disease in 
detail in a book like this. With every epidemic there springs 
up some plan of treatment which dominates for the time being, 
influenced, no doubt, by the requirements and conditions of 
various localities. A dose of calomel or blue mass, followed by 
castor oil, is generally given. Cold water sponging and diapho- 
retics, during the fever, with perfect rest, fresh air, food of the 
mildest kind, and good nursing. Quinine, ten or fifteen grains 
daily, throughout the disease, and stimulants are often necessary. 
Ice broken in small pieces should be freely given and allowed to 
dissolve in the mouth. Lime water, mineral water, lemonade, acid 
drinks, especially water acidulated with dilute sulphuric acid, are 
used to relieve nausea, thirst, and irritability of the stomach. 
Small quantities at a time and often repeated, is the best way to 
give them. Spice plasters, mustard plasters, and blisters should 
be applied over the stomach. 



FLATULENCE FRECKLES. 227 

FLATULENCE. 

Wind in the stomach and bowels sometimes becomes an 
annoyance, and a source of discomfort, especially in persons 
with feeble digestion. 

Cause. — Constipation, indigestion, disordered liver, improper 
food, acidity of the stomach and bowels ; gastric and intestinal 
catarrh, or the presence of irritating substances. 

Treatment. — The cause should always be ascertained, and 
when this is removed, the flatulence will disappear. If due to 
constipation, an enema will relieve ; if from a sour stomach, a 
few grains of bicarbonate of soda will answer the purpose. As 
a temporary remedy, I know of nothing superior to five 
drops of spirits of turpentine taken on a small lump of sugar. Red 
pepper tea, a few drops of camphor, a few drops of essence of 
peppermint, or a few drops of chloroform, are all reliable 
carminatives. Aromatic spirits of ammonia, or Hoffmann's anodyne, 
may be used if there is pain. Asafostida is the best remedy for 
flatulence in elderly persons. Catnip tea, or peppermint tea, is 
suited to children. Nothing, however, can take the place of a 
regulation of the diet and of the secretions. 



FRECKLES. 

Freckles consist of an excess of pigment in the skin. They are 
irregular in shape, variable in size, and of a brownish color. 
They are common in both sexes, and at all ages, but are much 
more common with boys from four to fifteen years of age. They 
appear principally on the face and hands, but disappear with 
advancing years, perhaps favored also by shaving the beard. 

Cause. — They are not due to any disorder. Warm weather, 
sunshine, and wind will cause them on persons so predisposed. 

Treatment. — Not more than one freckled person in a thousand 
ever thinks of taking steps to remove the freckles. They, however, 
sometimes become an annoyance to ladies, who seek their removal. 
There are many tilings recommended, but I have little faith in 
any of them. A saturated solution of borax applied five or six 



228 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

times a day, and allowed to dry on the skin, will sometimes 
remove the freckles, and it has the advantage of being harmless. 
Or 

A freshly cut lemon rubbed over the spots twice daily. 
Or 

A saturated solution of boracic acid, which any druggist can 
prepare, applied twice daity. 
Or 

A solution consisting of thirty grains of lactic acid in one-half 
ounce of water applied night and morning. Or the following 
poisonous mixture is said — 

A— 228.— TO REMOVE FRECKLES. 

Bichloride of mercury, 2 grains 

Water, 2 ounces. 

Poison. — Apply night and morning, until the skin is irritated ; then 
stop for a few days and renew its use. 

Or 

Oleate of copper ointment, applied at night and continued for 
some time, is said to remove them. 



FROSTBITE. 

When the toes, feet, fingers, ears or nose are frozen, it is cus- 
tomary and it is considered good practice to gradually restore them 
to their normal condition. The treatment consists of avoiding the 
fire or a warm room altogether, and by first rubbing the parts 
with snow or iced water or the coldest well water to be had, so 
that the parts be slowly brought to the natural temperature. It 
is a scientific theory, and perhaps a fact, that when a person is 
overcome with cold and becomes frozen stiff, he is not dead, and 
would live and enjoy health again if he could be thawed without 
destroying life. In other words, it is the thawing process that 
kills, and not the freezing. 

When the natural temperature is regained after frostbite, the 
parts should be bathed with camphor or tincture of arnica. If 
there is death of the parts they should be painted with dilute 
tincture of iodine, and when the dead tissue sloughs off and an 



GASTRITIS. 229 

open sore results it should be dressed with carbolated vaseline or 
carbolated sweet oil. 
Freezing to Death. 

When persons become stupid with cold, they are in great 
danger and should be made to exercise ; their hands should 
be rubbed, and if need be they must be whipped ; yet the same 
precautions against sudden change of temperature should be 
exercised. Efforts to restore the apparently frozen should not be 
abandoned as long as there are any signs of life. Frictions 
should be freely applied, and warming and gently stimulating 
drinks given internally. 

GASTRITIS. 

Gastritis consists of an Inflammation of the Stomach. It may be 
acute or chronic ; violent or mild. What is usually called Gastritis 
is ordinary Acute Gastric Catarrh. It is sometimes called Gastric 
Fever. 

Cause. — When irritant poisons are swallowed we may expect 
violent Acute Gastritis ; it may result from injuries or from swal- 
lowing hot liquids, or occasionally independent of apparent cause. 
The Gastritis of Alcoholism is well known. 

Symptoms. — Severe burning pain in the stomach, aggravated 
by breathing, incessant nausea, vomiting, great thirst, fetid 
breath ; constipation at first, later diarrhoea ; mild fever and a 
small, tense pulse. 

Mild cases soon recover, leaving the stomach irritable ; when 
extremely severe, collapse, with clammy sweats, ending in death, 
may ensue. An attack usually lasts from four days to a week. 

Treatment. — If a poison lias been swallowed, proper antidotes 
should be administered, the stomach emptied and washed out by 
a physician, if necessary. Quietness and entire abstinence from 
food should be secured. Small pieces of ice may be allowed to 
dissolve in the mouth, or small quantities of iced milk may be 
swallowed. A large mustard plaster should be placed over the 
stomach; flaxseed poultices may follow. 

Flaxseed tea and other mucilaginous drinks should be given. 
Great care must be taken during convalescence, and the physi- 



230 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

cian's advice strictly obeyed until recovery is complete ; this is 
important, because if the disease becomes chronic it is almost 
impossible to cure it. 

The treatment of chronic gastritis requires that the patient aban- 
don all bad habits, such as intemperance, the use of tobacco, or 
indulgences of any kind. The diet should be rather scanty, 
bland, and easily digested. The bowels should be kept free by 
the use of mildly purgative mineral waters. Bismuth, ten grains 
three times a day, is a very appropriate remedy. Washing out 
the stomach affords temporary relief. As this affection is ex- 
tremely difficult to cure, it is necessary that the patient should 
co-operate with the best medical treatment for a long time: indeed, 
complete restoration can scarcely be anticipated, the usual result 
being simply keeping under comfortable subjection the more 
unpleasant symptoms. 

Ulcer of the Stomach is a somewhat rare affection, and is 
most common in women of about twenty years of age. It is, as a 
rule, the result of anaemia, heart disease or chronic gastritis. It 
causes symptoms similar to gastritis in an aggravated form, of 
which pain and vomiting are the most prominent. The ejected 
material is often mixed with blood. The treatment consists of 
resting the stomach as much as possible. Nourishment should 
be given by the bowel, and nothing swallowed except food of the 
mildest sort. Milk and lime-water mixed is the most suitable 
diet. The medical treatment belongs entirely with the profession. 



GLANDERS. 

Horses and other animals occasionally suffer from a disease 
characterized by a violent inflammation of the mucous membranes 
of the nostrils, and a profuse discharge of thick, offensive matter. 

We call attention to this disease because it is sometimes 
transmitted from animals to man, and it may be communicated 
from one individual to another. It is not only contagious but 
very fatal. 

When an animal contracts the disease it should be killed at once, 
and great care exercised not to allow any of the poison to come 
in contact with any abrasion on the hands. 



GOITRE. 231 

GOITRE. 

A Goitre, or Bronchocele, is an unsightly, but painless swelling 
in front of, and at the lower end of the neck. It is seen in all 
sections of the country, but is said to be more common in 
mountainous regions. Females are more liable to it than males. 
Almost every patent medicine almanac contains a picture of a 
goitre. 

Exophthalmic Goitre is characterized, not only by the 
swelling in the neck, but by a protrusion of the eyeballs, and is 
generally associated with functional diseases of the heart, and 
more or less anaemia. It is most common in women and girls of 
a nervous temperament. 

Cause. — It is supposeed to result from drinking water sur- 
charged with minerals. Dampness and depressing condition of 
any kind may produce it. It is often associated with neuralgia, 
hysteria, and uterine disorders. It is said that frequent marriages 
of consanguinity have a tendency to produce it. Its real cause, 
however, cannot be definitely stated. 

Treatment. — Rest, recreation, a change of surroundings, and atten- 
tion to hygiene. Iron, quinine, and other tonics will often hasten 
a cure. Recovery is greatly assisted by the use of tincture of iodine 
externally, and the use of iodide of potash internally. The following 
is a desirable — 

A— 231.— EEMEDY FOE GOITEE. 

Iodide of potash, 2i drachms 

Water, 2 ounces 

Compound syrup sarsaparilla, 2 ounces. 

Mix. One teaspoonful after each meal. 

Or 

B— 231. 

Lugol's solution of iodine, 1 ounce. 

Take five to ten drops, after meals, in water. 

It should be known that goitre in its early stages is a curable 
disease ; also, that when it has been long established it is incurable, 
and that, in such cases, even if it is cured, it is liable to return 
again, unless its exciting cause is removed. If climate or locality 
is producing it, the necessity of removing to some other section 
is evident. Becoming a permanent victim to this shocking 
deformity is a misfortune to bo avoided. 



232 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

GOUT. 

While gout and rheumatism are entirety different in their 
nature, they are, in some respects, sufficiently similar to become 
associated in the minds of the people. 

Gout and rheumatism are often found thoroughly blended in 
the same person. When such a condition exists it is known as 
Rheumatic Gout. 

Cause. — Gout is a hereditary disease; when it occurs in early 
life, it should always be considered of such an origin. High 
living and indolence, especially when associated with the use of 
stimulants, tend to produce it. It is attended with an excess of 
uric acid in the blood, showing that there is an imperfect action 
of the kidneys. 

Symptoms. — Among the differences between gout and rheu- 
matism may be mentioned the following : Gout attacks the 
small joints only, and generally only a limited number at a time, 
with a persistent tendency to the big toe; rheumatism attacks the 
large joints, is quite general, and affects the joints of the upper 
as well as the lower extremities. Gout is much more often in- 
herited, and is generally associated with indolence, high living, 
and the use of intoxicants, while rheumatism is usually associated 
with exposure, cold, dampness, and debility of body. In the 
chronic forms, it is often quite difficult to distinguish between 
the two diseases. 

Prior to an attack, there are several days of indigestion, con- 
stipation, flatulence, acidity of the stomach, palpitation of the 
heart, and pale stools. Suddenly, often while in bed, the ball 
of the big toe joint becomes painful, or it may be the ankle 
or wrist; the pain increases in violence and at times is most 
intense. It is described as a bone pain, of a gnawing, burning 
character. An old farmer well described the difference between 
the pain of rheumatism and that of gout, who said, " Put your 
big toe in a vise and turn till you can't stand it any longer — 
that is rheumatism ; give it about two more turns — that is 
gout." 

The parts are red, swollen, and tender, and always attended 



gout. . 233 

with throbbing; there is more or less fever and nervous irrita- 
bility. 

It generally begins to subside in a few days, when the parts 
become bathed in sweat, and it is not uncommon for chalky 
deposits to appear about the joints. The patient is often exhausted, 
and is disposed to sleep heavily after an attack. The urine is, at 
first, scanty, then high-colored, but as the disease progresses it 
becomes more profuse and deposits a sediment. 

Retrocedent or Misplaced Gout disappears from the joints 
and attacks some of the internal organs, as the heart or the 
stomach. This is known as metastasis, and when it attacks the 
heart it may cause almost instant death. This migration is some- 
times the result of treating the joints too energetically, especially 
by the application of cold water. 

Treatment. — Colchicum is considered, to some degree at least, 
a specific for gout : not to cure it entirely, but to modify its pain 
and give temporary relief. All the proprietary " gout cures " 
contain colchicum in some form. 

The Wine of Colchicum Root is, perhaps, the best preparation. 
One of the most renowned of medical authors and teachers of 
modern times was, himself, a great sufferer from gout, and he 
depended entirely upon wine of colchicum for relief. It should 
be given in doses of from ten to twenty drops three or four times 
daily. 

The following is a desirable — 

A— 233.— GOUT MIXTURE. 

"Wine of colchicum root, 1 drachm 

Cream of tartar, 2^ drachms 

Rochelle salts, 2} drachms 

Peppermint water enough to make 4 ounces. 

Dose, a tuhlespoonful three times daily. 

When the disease becomes chronic, iodide of potash is often 
extremely useful, and may be combined with colchicum. If the 
patient becomes anaemic, iron or arsenic will often prove beneficial. 

Here is a little hint for the gouty subject. Good authority 
states that it is injurious to try to stop an attack of gout, but that 
it is best to let it run its course ; that it is a purifying process, and 



234 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

if allowed to develop, the poison will pass out of the system, but if 
medicines are given to relieve it — even colchicum — they only 
detain the poison in the system to invite future attacks. I simply 
give this for what it may be worth. 

The local treatment consists of alkaline applications. The fol- 
lowing is used in hospital practice, and is found useful ; the parts 
are to be wrapped in lint soaked in the mixture well shaken up : 

A— 234. -LOTION. 

Bicarbonate of soda, 1 ounce 

Linseed oil, h pint 



GRAVEL. 

Gravel or Kidney Stones — Lilhiasis — consists of the formation of 
small sand-like particles in the kidney and bladder. 

Cause. — This disease is due to drinking water containing lime, 
and eating food which favors the formation of uric acid deposits. 

Symptoms. — Pain in the back, which may extend all along the 
entire urinary tract. Chilliness, fever, generally following some 
indisposition, as dyspepsia or "a cold." The urine contains a 
sand-like substance which precipitates to the bottom. There is 
frequent desire to urinate, and when large particles are passed it 
is accompanied with pain, sometimes extremely intense. 

Treatment. — The urine should be rendered alkaline by the 
use of bicarbonate of soda or other alkalies. Demulcent drinks, 
such as flaxseed, and elm bark tea, should be freely drank. Sweet 
spirits of nitre is a standard remedy, and the severe pain will 
demand the use of opium in some form. Several mineral waters 
are recommended for this complaint, and those containing alkalies 
are of real value, but the free use of pure soft water will, in most 
instances, answer quite as well. Those subject to " fits of gravel " 
should drink freely of water, and, if they can afford it, the various 
mineral waters, such as Vichy, Carlsbad, Buffalo Lithia, and Bedford 
Spring ivater should be freely drank. It must not be forgotten that 
there is considerable humbuggery connected with the mineral 
water business, and none but reliable kinds should be used. 

Animal food and all stimulating diet should be avoided. Warm 






HABITUAL ALCOHOLISM. 235 

clothing, baths, proper exercise, and vegetable diet should all be utilized 
to secure relief. 

Decoction of Stigmata of Zea Mays, or Com Silk tea, made by 
adding a pint of boiling water to a handful of the silk of green 
Indian corn, may be drank at liberty. This has been much 
used for this complaint during the past year or two. The worst 
that can be said against it is that the corn silk is harmless, and 
the water will no doubt benefit. 

Hydrangea has been greatly praised as a remedy for gravel. 
The fluid extract may be taken in teaspoonful doses every four to 
six hours, in a glass of water. A physician should always be 
consulted, and an analysis of the urine made, and, if possible, the 
causes which produce the sediment removed. The continual 
irritation caused hy the presence of such materials in the kidneys, 
ureters, and bladder is very likely to bring serious complications 
sooner or later. 

HABITUAL ALCOHOLISM. 

Habitual Alcoholism, Inebriety, Chronic Alcoholism, or Drunkenness, 
is the habitual use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage. 

The above definition has a broader meaning than is usually 
given to these terms, yet the scope here given is correct. It is the 
drinking that decides who are inebriates, and not the incidental 
effect the alcohol consumed may have upon the individual. If 
two persons each habitually drink an equal quantity of whiskey, 
brandy, or other alcoholic beverage per day, they both belong to 
the same class, no matter how different the effect of the liquor 
may be upon them. It may attack the mind of the one and 
render him totally unfit for business, and have no other apparent 
deleterious effect. The mind of the other may remain clear, but 
his liver, stomach, or some other organ will suffer, and the ulti- 
mate harm may be equally great. The use of alcoholic liquors 
should be limited to well defined and positive indications ; because 
when used beyond this point they at once become a source of 
injury. Unless there were valid reasons for its use, it is doubtful 
whether a drink of intoxicating liquor was ever swallowed that 
did not have a deleterious influence. 



236 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

The habitual use of alcoholic beverages is accompanied by 
an evil effect, corresponding to the amount of alcohol they 
contain. It matters not whether they are in the form of brandy, 
whiskey, gin, champagne, wine, ale, beer, or cider. It matters not 
how it looks or how it tastes, alcohol is alcohol, and its effect upon 
the healthy human tissues is always deleterious and destructive, 
and its habitual use inevitably tends to physical and moral ruin. 

Cause. — In considering the drink habit from a medical stand- 
point, we must examine into the causes which lead to it, and 
ask ourselves : " Why do people drink ? The writer has asked 
hundreds of drinking men this question, and he has yet to find 
the first man who drinks liquor because he wants to. The 
question is certainly the second greatest problem in the world that 
is seeking an answer to-day. Theories innumerable in regard to 
the matter are advanced, but practical, tangible answers to the 
question seem to be wanting. 

The saying that " All roads lead to London " might well be 
applied to the influences which lead men to the drink habit. 
Wealth and poverty, success and failure, health and disease, joy 
and sorrow, close confinement and freedom, hard work and 
indolence, hereditary tendencies and acquired habit, mental 
dullness and mental activity, exposure to extreme cold and to 
extreme heat, personal liberty and the environments of slavery, 
the excitement of an active life and the monotony of obscurity, 
the force of avarice and the impulses of liberality, laws upon the 
subject and the lack of them, high license and low license, and 
numberless other influences, divergent and antagonistic in other 
matters, become, through the subtleness of the wine cup, impelling 
channels, which converge and meet at the shrine of alcoholic 
indulgence. 

Alcoholic liquors are used to awaken the thoughts of the 
student, and to deaden the conscience of the villain ; to enliven 
the mirth of the ball-room and to provoke the laughter of the 
brothel ; to gladden the hearts of the innocent, and to deepen the 
crimson of sin ; to fire the courage of the statesman and to support 
the daring of the traitor ; to soothe the cry of the infant and to 
quiet the pang of the dying. 



HABITUAL ALCOHOLISM. 237 

Anything that tends to pervert human actions or conditions 
seems to favor the use of stimulants. Among the more impor- 
tant and direct causes of intemperance are : allowing alcoholic 
stimulants to be manufactured and sold ; their careless and pro- 
miscuous use in medicine ; the practice of treating ; ignorance of 
their true nature ; the use of tobacco ; careless parents ; ignorant 
statesmen; domestic unhappiness ; improper food ; forfeited pride 
and ambition ; discontent among the masses, and individual 
thoughtlessness. 

Hereditary influences are potent factors in leading men to 
drink — much more powerful than is generally supposed. The 
boldly-defended and so-called temperate use of beer, wine, and 
other liquors in the home, often sends down to posterity an almost 
irresistible appetite for stimulants. When we stand on the banks 
of a mighty river, our minds are apt to seek its source, and think 
of the brooks and rivulets which help to swell its borders and 
press its onward flow to the sea ; so may we, in contemplating the 
immensity of the drink habit, candidly accept the fact, that what 
we call moderation and the occasional indulgence in alcoholic 
beverages, are extremely liable to taint the elements of kinship, 
and create as a legacy for posterity, the curse of a depraved 
appetite. The immediate, as well as the final results of the drink 
habit, are well known. They vary greatly, and depend largely 
upon the temperament and physique of the individual, the kind 
and quantity of liquors consumed, and the regularity with which 
they are imbibed. No material of the physical or mental organi- 
zation is exempt from their ruinous effects. The brain, mind, 
nerves, stomach, liver, lungs, kidneys, heart, intestines, and 
glandular system, are all liable to undergo, not only functional, 
but organic change. The havoc wrought by alcohol is apt to 
prove permanent, and the system of the habitual drinker becomes 
less and less fortified against the influence of disease. Pneumonia, 
fevers, summer diseases, and epidemics, are more disastrous among 
this class than with any other. For the sake of health and 
posterity there are numberless reasons why people should not 
drink alcoholic liquors as a beverage, and to prove each reason, 



238 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

numberless ruined men and women might bear truthful testimony 
to the havoc which is apt to follow indulgence in their use. 

Treatment. — The writer has taken much interest in this subject, 
and were this not strictly a medical book, he would be tempted to 
enlarge it at this point. To a medical standpoint simply we must 
confine ourselves. 

What can be done by the use of medicines to cure intemper- 
ance ? Is there any innocent substitute for alcoholic beverages ? 
Is there any antidote ? Is there any specific ? Is there any cure 
named in the books ? My answer to all these questions is : " No, 
there is not." There has yet been found no drug that will 
lessen the appetite or destroy the habit. 

As every one knows, there are diseased conditions arising from 
the use of stimulants which may be relieved, or cured perhaps, 
provided the use of stimulants is withdrawn ; but when it comes 
to administering drugs in order to bring about temperance, 
sobriety and abstinence, there is not a shadow of foundation for 
such practice. 

I know there are many compounds advertised as " specifics " 
and " cures " for drunkenness, but I believe them all to be abso- 
lutely worthless. Some of them are so tasteless that they may be 
placed in the coffee or tea of the patient without being detected 
by him. 

An advertisement of one of these lies before me, and it contains 
the following language : — 

" It is absolutely harmless and will effect a permanent and 
speedy cure, whether the j>atient is a moderate drinker or an 
alcoholic wreck. It has been given in thousands of cases, and in 
every instance a perfect cure has followed. It never fails. The 
system once impregnated with the Specific, it becomes an utter 
impossibility for the liquor appetite to exist." 

If the above statements were true, the compound need never 
be advertised. The inventor thereof would become one of the 
immortals of earth. No mystic Oracle or Royal Touch ever 
attracted such a throng of human travel as would turn with eager 
and hopeful interest toward this wonderful and mysterious mix- 
ture. But will it cure drunkenness 9 Of course not. My expe- 



HABITUAL ALCOHOLISM. 239 

rience with this article as a druggist has been that it has failed 
completely in ever} 7- case that has come under my notice. And 
all the various compounds sent forth on sale and advertised as 
cures and antidotes for the alcohol habit are, I believe, entitled 
to the same verdict. 

The American Association for the Study and Cure of Inebriety 
has had some forty of the so-called " Cures for Drunkenness " ana- 
lyzed, with the result that they all proved to be either inert, use- 
less liquids, or compounds of alcohol itself. The Association has 
become tired of making such investigations, and is inclined 
to condemn indiscriminately every cure offered the public. 
" Most of them are worse than humbugs." 

The reason why they seem to be beneficial at times arises from 
the fact that they are generally given at the close of a debauch ; 
the greater and more prolonged the debauch has been, the more 
apt are such articles to be tried ; and if the drunkard sobers up 
and remains a total abstainer for a little longer time than usual, 
a testimonial results. These remedies are given to the spreeing 
class almost exclusively, and the seasons of abstinence between 
paroxysms are credited to the virtues of the vaunted nostrums. 
I know of nothing in the entire domain of medicine that in any 
way tends to dispel the appetite for, or destroy the habit of, using 
strong drink. 

Hospitals and Asylums, conducted for the purpose, offer the most 
effectual means of curing the habit. Statistics abundantly prove 
that, while enforced abstinence is essential, the influence of 
religion is, so far, the most potent cure of the drink habit. 

" The managers of the Christian Home for Intemperate Men, of 
New York, seek to cure inebriety by saving the soul of the ine- 
briate, and in no other way;" and it must be admitted that the 
plan is more successful and permanent than the most enlightened 
medical treatment where religious forces are discarded. Just at 
this time "Homes" and Asylums for inebriates are springing 
up over the country. A visit, for a season, to a well managed 
Home, will often prove a great help to those willing and anxious 
to reform ; but the medical treatment advertised by the managers 
of some of these institutions is quackery of the worst form. If 



240 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

any good ever comes from these " wonderful discoveries for the 
Alcohol and Opium Habit," it will be in teaching the people how 
fraud can nourish for a season, that drugs are useless, and that a 
cure must be sought from other sources. 

HARELIP. 

Harelip is a congenital deformity consisting of a cleft in the 
upper lip, more often on the left side. 

The malformation is occasionally double ; that is, a cleft is on 
both sides of the middle line of the lip. At times the deformity 
is great, and always embarrassing to the individual if allowed 
to remain. It can, however, be remedied, and the subject is men- 
tioned in this volume to encourage parents, who have children so 
afflicted, to have an operation performed by a competent surgeon, 
at an early age, because the sooner it is done the less noticeable 
will be the scar, and the more complete will be the removal of the 
deformity. It should be done before the end of the first year. 



THE HAIR, 



The hair serves such useful purposes in the protection and 
adornment of the body, that its growth and care are matters of 
importance. The hair, like the nails, is an appendage of the skin, 
being simply a modification of the thin, outer layer of the skin. 
It corresponds with the feathers of birds, and the scales of fishes. 

Hairs are found upon almost the entire surface of the body, the 
palms of the hands and the soles of the feet being the most 
marked exceptions. 

The hair consists of hollow tubes, and is nourished by secreting 
glands, located near its roots. When the hair tubes are round 
the hair is straight, when they are flattened the hair becomes 
curly. When the hair is dry it is more curly than when moist. 
This is why the dampness takes the curl out of frizzes. When a 
hair is drawn through the fingers from the root to the point, it 
feels smooth, but when it is drawn toward the root it feels rough 



THE HAIR. 241 

to the touch. This is due to the fact that the outer layer of the 
hair texture consists of small scales, overlapping one another. 
Under this outer layer of scales is the fibrous layer, which gives 
the hair its great strength. In this layer is the coloring matter, 
or pigment. 

Only three colors of pigment are found, red, yellow, and black. 
All the various shades of hair are formed by the presence or ab- 
sence of these three colors. 

The hair grows at the rate of eight or ten inches per year. There 
are estimated to be about 120,000 hairs, on an average, on the 
head of each individual, or about 1000 to the square inch. 

The color of the hair does not have as much to do with personal 
beauty as some persons imagine. Careless criticism usually con- 
demns red hair, and yet it has, in poetry, art and history, been 
styled as a mark of beauty. Ossian, whose poetry retains a place 
in classic literature, always clothed beauty in red hair. The 
ancient Gauls and Turks recognized it as a type of beauty. The 
ancient Britons aspired to red hair. Again, I repeat, it is not so 
much the color of the hair which gives it the power to enhance 
personal charms. It is the care bestowed upon it ; the art prac- 
ticed in arranging it ; the industry used in keeping it dressed ; the 
pride and good taste displayed in answering the demands of 
fashion. 

CLEANSING THE SCALP AND HAIR. 

The hair and the scalp should be kept clean. This is best done 
by occasionally washing the scalp with pure water and castile soap, 
or with water rendered soft by the addition of a small quantity of 
borax, and the washing concluded with pure water, and the hair 
dried with a towel. 

One of the best cleansing substances is the yolk of an egg, 
which should be well rubbed into the roots of the hair and upon 
the scalp, and then washed out with tepid water and castile soap, 
rinsing the hair with pure, cold water, wiping dry and rubbing 
briskly with a coarse towel. If the hair is dry after washing, a 
very small quantity of pomade should be applied. Pomade vase- 
line is perhaps the best. The scalp should be washed at least 
once a month. 

16 



242 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

During early infancy, the head should be carefully washed with 
lukewarm water and castile soap ; only the softest brushes . and 
sponges should be used. A well wrought precept is : " Wash the 
scalp, but not the hair ; comb the hair, but not the scalp" 

Hair Brushes made of pure bristles should always be selected ; 
the bristles should not be too thick, and should be cut of uneven 
length so as to facilitate in penetrating the hair. Metal hair 
brushes, consisting of blunt-pointed pins, held in position by a 
rubber base, are not fitted for the purpose intended. The same 
might be said of many of the cheap brushes made of wood fibre, 
and found on sale in every store. The hair is greatly benefited 
by being brushed. 

Combs are essential instruments, and should be selected with 
care. Horn combs are said to be preferable to those made of 
rubber, but the latter material meets with almost universal 
approval. They, however, generate electricity when passed 
through the hair, while horn and bone do not. 

The scalp should never be scraped with a sharp-toothed comb. 

BALDNESS. 

Baldness, Alopecia, or Falling of the Hair, is a circumstance too 
often seen. Bald-headed men are very numerous. 

Cause. — A great number of conditions favor baldness. Want 
of vigor of the scalp, fever, sickness, diseases of the scalp. No 
doubt the most common cause of baldness is the custom men 
have of wearing impervious hats. The air within the hat becomes 
heated and impure, the hair glands become obstructed, the hair 
falls out, and in many instances the skin becomes so changed — 
barren, so to speak — that no hope of future growth of the hair can 
be entertained. 

Dyspepsia, deranged secretions, mental worry and grief, all tend 
to baldness. 

Women are more prone to thinness of the hair than men, but 
complete baldness is far more common in men. Heredity is a 
frequent cause of baldness, an influence which seems confined to 
the male sex. 

It is said that iEsculapius, the god of medicine, and Hippo- 






THE HAIR. 243 

crates, the father of medicine, were both bald. An observer also 
states that several of the manufacturers of the leading proprietary 
Hair Restorers are also bald-headed. 

Treatment. — Just what is the best thing to do to prevent 
baldness, and to restore the hair after it has fallen out, is often an 
exceedingly j)erplexing question. I have had a large experience 
in compounding and selling hair preparations intended for this 
purpose, but I cannot say that the result has been satisfactory. 

Seven volumes, treating of the subject of the hair, are on my 
desk before me at the present time, yet the advice they give and 
the remedies they name have so often failed under my observa- 
tion, that they all seem unworthy of commendation. 

Much can be done by improving the general health. Tonics, 
such as iron, arsenic, and especially strychnia, should be taken in 
cases of debility. If malaria, scrofula, rheumatism, or other con- 
stitutional disease is present, it should be looked upon as favoring 
baldness, and a physician should be consulted. 

Clipping the hair, or sometimes even shaving the head, will 
prove beneficial. Keeping the hair trimmed greatly helps its 
vitality. When the hair is trimmed, to improve its vigor, the 
short hairs should be included. Brisk, cold washings of the scalp, 
followed by friction with a towel, not too harsh, will be of service. 
The scalp should not be too greatly irritated, or the hair-growing 
texture will be destroyed. A porous hat should be worn, and 
much out-of-door exercise taken. If there exists any local skin 
disease, of course it should be cured first. 

Sugar of lead is an ingredient of most all patent hair tonics. 
An analysis of quite a number of them has been made, and they 
contain from three to ten grains of lead to the ounce. 

AYhile lead restores the color of the hair and perhaps stimulates 
its growth, it is capable of poisoning the system when used too 
liberally. 

The King of Sweden suffered a severe attack of sickness from 
this cause some years ago. One such case has occurred under 
the notice of the writer. 

A retired merchant had suffered for years, at irregular intervals, 
from severe attacks of painful bowel trouble, lasting two or three 



244 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

weeks. One day his wife came into my store to purchase a bottle 
of a certain proprietary hair tonic. The instant she asked for it 
the idea of "lead colic" entered my mind. I made some remark 
in regard to the article, remembering that she was a regular 
customer for it. She replied that it was for her husband ; that 
he had used it almost constantly for years, and that it was such a 
grand thing for the hair that he could not get along without it. 
In a few moments I was in his physician's office, and I at once 
told him what was the matter with his patient. I informed him 

that his patient had been buying " " for the hair for a 

number of years, that it contained lead, and that these severe 
attacks which he had been treating for introsusception of the 
bowels was lead poisoning. The doctor looked at me in amaze- 
ment, and exclaimed : " That's a fact, I can now see every symptom 
of lead poisoning just as plain as can be, but I had never thought 
of it before." It proved to be true, and the gentleman has since 
enjoyed good health. Some persons are very susceptible to the 
influence of lead, and perhaps this gentleman was one of them. 

A Solution of Soap Bark, one ounce stirred into a pint of 
water, is an excellent stimulant to the scalp, and is said to pro- 
mote the growth of the hair. It should be rubbed into the scalp 
with a coarse towel. It cleanses the scalp thoroughly, and should 
be used every few days. 
Or 

Bathing the scalp several times a week in salt water (two tea- 
spoonfuls to the pint) will be found beneficial. It should be 
thoroughly rubbed in. 

Nearly all the prescriptions intended to promote the growth of 
the hair contain one or more of the following articles : alcohol, 
tincture of cantharides, castor oil, glycerine, ammonia, nux vomica, 
quinine, tincture capsicum, turpentine, carbolic acid, vaseline, cosmoline, 
sulphur, sugar of leadov chloral. 

The following will be found useful : — 

A— 244.— HAIR TONIC. 

Tincture cantharides, 2 drachma 

Castor oil, 2 drachms 

Deodorized alcohol, 3\ ounces. 

Odor to suit. 

Mix. Apply once daily to scalp. 



THE HAIR. 245 

Or 

A— 245. 

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, , . 1 ounce 

Alcohol, 1 ounce 

Glycerine, 1 ounce 

Tincture cantharides, 3 drachms 

Eose water to make 8 ounces. 

Mix. Shake well. Apply twice daily. 

Or 

The following is copied from the highest medical authority as 
a most excellent remedy for baldness. It is well worth a trial : — 

B— 245. 

Fluid extract jaborandi, 1 ounce 

Tincture cantharides, .... £ ounce 

Soap liniment, li ounce. 

Mix. Rub on the scalp once daily. 

DANDRUFF. 

Dandruff, Seborrhcea, or Pityriasis is a scaly disease of the scalp 
of almost universal prevalence. 

Cause. — Neglecting the scalp is the most common cause. In- 
flammatory and parasitic diseases, the use of rancid and irritating 
pomades, the use of sharp-toothed combs, and ill health all tend 
to promote its formation. When dandruff is allowed to accumu- 
late, the scalp is apt to become diseased, which may lead to bald- 
ness. 

Dandruff should be considered more or less contagious, and it 
is always wise to use no brush, comb, or shaving utensil that is 
used by others. Especially does this apply to those who visit the 
barber. Each individual should not only supply his own shaving 
cup, but razor, strop, comb, and brush. 

Treatment. — The scalp should be kept thoroughly clean by 
washing it every morning carefully with soap and water. If the 
cleansing process is difficult, as sometimes happens in neglected 
cases, the head should be oiled to soften the scalp previous to each 
washing until the scalp is clean. 

Carbolated vaseline will answer as an application after each 
washing. 
Or 

The following may be used as a stimulating application : — 



24G DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

A— 246.— FOR THE SCALP. 

Castor oil, 2 drachms 

Carbolic acid, 30 drops 

Alcohol, li ounce 

Oil bitter almonds, 10 drops. 

Mix. 

Or 
The following will be found useful : — 

B— 246. 

Tincture cantharides, 3 drachms 

Tincture capsicum, 3 drachms 

Castor oil, 2 drachms 

Alcohol, 2 ounces 

Spirits rosemary, 1 ounce. 

Mix. Use every day. 

Or 

Sixty grains of chloral in two ounces of water is an excellent 
stimulant to the scalp. 
Or 

The following ointment rubbed into the scalp will often be 
found extremely useful : — 

C— 246. 

Precipitated sulphur, 1 drachm 

Vaseline, 1 ounce. 

The treatment of dandruff must be persisted in for months, and 
if the skin of the head is diseased, appropriate treatment must, of 
course, be employed. 

DYEING THE HAIR. 

The hair should be artificially colored as seldom as possible. 
One would naturally suppose that hair dyes were used principally 
by women, but such is not the case. Men color the hair much 
more than women. 

Some hair dyes are injurious, while others are not. Those 
containing lead are the most injurious, and those containing iron 
are perhaps the least so. 

The general health is more apt to suffer from the use of poison- 
ous hair dyes than is the hair. Carefully and sparingly applied, 
I believe they can be used for a lifetime and not result in harm. 
If hair dyes are to be used carelessly or too freely, they had better 
be discarded entirely. 






THE HAIR. . 247 

The following is similar to what is used by barbers to dye the 
hair black. Care should be used in order to avoid contact with 
the skin, and gloves should be worn to protect the hands while 
applying it :— 

A— 247.— BLACK HAIE DYE. 
SOLUTION NO. 1. 

Gallic acid, 30 grains 

Water, 18 drachms 

Alcohol, .6 drachms. 

Mix. 

SOLUTION NO. 2. 

Nitrate of silver, 1 drachm 

Aqua ammonia, 2 drachms 

Water, 1 ounce. 

Mix. 

No. 1 is to be carefully and evenly applied, and after it is dry 
No. 2 is to be applied, which results in the hair turning a deep 
black color. 
Or 

The following makes a natural appearing black dye, and is free 
from the poisoning nature of the silver dye given above : — 

B— 247.— HAIR DYE. solution no. 1. 

Citrate of bismuth, 1 ounce 

Rose water, 2 ounces 

Distilled water, 2 ounces 

Alcohol, 5 drachms 

Ammonia, sufficient. 

Mix. 

solution no. 2. 

Hypophosphite of soda, 12 drachms 

Distilled water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. 

No. 1 should be evenly and thoroughly applied in the morn- 
ing, and No. 2 should be applied in the evening. The care with 
which these solutions are distributed will manifest itself in the 
final result. 
Or 

The following preparation will darken the hair, and is entirely 
harmless ; indeed, it may be considered a tonic : — 



248 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

A— 248.— HAIR DYE. 

Sulphate of iron, 1 drachm 

Alcohol, 1 ounce 

Oil rosemary, 12 drops 

Water, 8 ounces. 

Mix. Apply freely to hair and scalp. 

Or 

Sugar of lead, as before stated, enters into most hair prepara- 
tions, and the following will turn gray hair to its natural color 
and tend to promote its growth : — 

B— 248.- HAIR DYE. 

Sugar of lead, 1 drachm 

Borax, 1 drachm 

Lac sulphur, 1 drachm 

Aqua ammonia, £ drachm 

Alcohol | ounce. 

Mix, and let stand twelve hours and add 

Bay rum, £ ounce 

Common salt, f teaspoonful 

Soft water, 6 ounces 

Ess. bergamot, 1 drachm. 

Mix. For baldness apply twice daily. For gray hair, one application 
daily. 

C- 248.— BROWN HAIR DYE. 

Sugar of lead, 30 grains 

Sulphur, powdered, 1 drachm 

Water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. Shake well before using. 

Apply night and morning for one week, and then less 
frequently, until it is used once in one or two weeks. This is a 
mild preparation, and results best on reddish hair. The discolor- 
ation it imparts to the skin can be brushed off when dry. 
Or 

The following, though poisonous if swallowed, does not stain 
the skin, and gives a good brown color : — 

D-248.— BROWN HAIR DYE. 
SOLUTION NO. 1. 

Sulphate of copper, 16 grains 

Water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. 

SOLUTION NO. 2. 

Ferrocyanide of potash, 16 grains 

Water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. 



THE HAIR. 249 

Carefully and evenly apply No. 1 to the hair, and when nearly 
or quite dry apply No. 2 by means of a sponge or brush. Re- 
peating the application darkens the tint. 

POMADES AND HAIR TONICS. 

Pomades and perfumed ointments for the hair are of ancient 
origin. Most all fatty materials have been used to anoint the 
hair. 

Lard, bear's grease, marrow, cocoanut oil, suet, castor oil, and 
many other substances are more or less used. 

For years I have used for myself, and recommended to others, 
Pomade Vaseline, and I know of nothing more delightful than 
this preparation for the hair. Animal oils and fats become 
rancid, vegetable oils make the hair gummy and sticky, but 
vaseline does neither. It is by far the most pleasant article to 
use on the hair, it takes but little of it to answer the purpose, and 
after selling it directly to consumers for many years continuously 
I know of no objection whatever to its use. 

Castor Oil is said to be not only a dressing, but a tonic for the 
growth of the hair. When used it should always be cut with 
alcohol. The following makes a good — 

A— 249.— HAIR OIL. 

Castor oil, 3 ounces 

Alcohol, 1 ounce. 

Mix. 

Or 

If a less oily mixture is wanted and more of a stimulant and 
tonic, the following may be used as a — 

B— 249.— HAIR TONIC. 

Castor oil, 1 ounce 

Alcohol, 3 ounces. 

Odor to suit. 
Mix. 

Or 

If a more stimulating dressing is needed than either of the 
above, or if there is dandruff or threatened baldness, two drachms 
tincture of cantharid-^ may be added to either. 



250 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

When castor oil preparations are freely used on the hair it 
becomes sticky and stiff, and requires an occasional cleansing. 

Pomades made from cocoanut oil are highly praised, and when 
fresh they are excellent tonic dressings. 

Never use much perfumery on the hair or in hair preparations. 
The heat of the head favors evaporation, and the effect is ofttimes 
offensive and shows bad taste. 

Bear's grease, ox marrow, and other fats often used in pomades 
possess no special merit. Cotton-seed oil, olive oil, and other oils 
that have nothing to recommend them, except their cheapness, 
should not be used in hair preparations. 

HAIR REMOVERS. 

Depilatories, or hair removers, are sometimes legitimate neces- 
sities. Hair sometimes grows on the faces of women to such an 
extent as to become objectionable, yet genuine beauty often 
admits of well-marked hirsute tendencies. 

The use of electricity affords the surest and most permanent 
method of removing superfluous hairs, and directions for its 
employment will be found in the article on electricity. 

A pair of tweezers is a very simple and safe instrument with 
which to get rid of hair. When they are to be used the parts 
may be numbed by the application of ice, a spray of ether, or a 
solution of cocaine. The hairs should be jerked out, and not 
gradually pulled. If the procedure is at all extensive a phy- 
sician or barber should be consulted. When a hair is pulled out 
by the roots the hair bulb is not destroyed, and in due time the 
hair will grow again. 

The following is said to be a reliable — 

A— 250.— HAIR REMOVER. 

Sulphuret of sodium, 10 grains 

Quicklime, in powder, 30 grains 

Starch, 30 grains. 

Mix. Rub a little of this powder with water, and apply it to the part, 
and remove the hair in a minute or two with a wooden knife. 

Or 

To a strong solution of sulphuret of barium add sufficient starch 
to make a paste, and use the same as the preceding mixture. 



HAY FEVER. 251 



HAY FEVER. 

Hay Fever is also called Hay Asthma, June Cold, Rose Cold, and 
Summer or Autumnal Catarrh. 

This disease prevails in many places during the spring, sum- 
mer, and autumn ; oftenest in autumn. 

Cause. — A predisposition to this disease seems to exist in some 
persons. 

The author is acquainted with several who know almost the 
day of the month, each year, when they will be attacked with it, 
no matter what the weather or other circumstances may be. 

It is no doubt caused by some atmospheric irritation not yet 
understood. 

Symptoms. — There is a severe and persistent irritation of the 
mucous membrane of the nose, and profuse, watery discharge, 
attended with sneezing, coughing, hawking, a peculiar headache, 
and watery eyes. There is more or less constitutional disturbance. 

After a period of variable duration the disease disappears, 
leaving the patient somewhat weak. It is a very disagreeable 
complaint, and one from which persons eagerly seek relief. 

Treatment. — The author has had considerable experience with 
hay fever, in treating others and in his own case, but, so far as he 
has observed, the results have been very unsatisfactory. 

We are informed that there is a "Hay Fever Club" in this 
country. It has a standing offer of several thousand dollars to 
any one who will discover a sure remedy for hay fever, but so far 
no one has secured the prize. 

Several so-called " cures " for this disease are on the market, but 
after selling them for years, I can recommend none of them. Most 
of them are strong solutions of the bromides, and are liable to 
derange the digestion. 

Going away from it is a sure remedy, if the right refuge is 
selected. The seashore suits some; others are benefited by the 
mountain air. Certain localities seem to be free from it. 

Woolen clothing should be worn and night air avoided. 

A local application of a saturated solution of quinine has been 
useful to many, and it will not do any harm. 



252 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Snuff DobelVs Solution from the hand, and then the following 
powder as a — 

A— 252.— SNUFF FOR HAY FEVER. 

Quinine, 20 grains 

Powdered gum arabic, 1| drachms 

Bismuth subnitrate, li drachms 

Morphia, 3 grains. 

Mix. Use as snuff. 

Sneezing should be avoided, and the nose should not be blown 
hard. Both these acts are apt to be overdone, as they afford a 
certain degree of satisfaction. 

Sneezing may be prevented by using a smelling bottle con- 
taining weak ammonia. 

Quinine should be freely given, from six to fifteen grains in the 
twenty-four hours. 

It is claimed that washing out the nose with a douche, several 
times a week, before the time for the disease to appear, and the 
free use of quinine, will have a tendency to lessen the severity of 
the disease. 

HEADACHE. 

Pain in the head, while only a symptom of some morbid condi- 
tion or disease, is so annoying and prominent, when it occurs, 
that it always demands the use of remedies directly for its relief. 
So universally is this the case that headache may well be consid- 
ered as a distinct disease. 

Cause. — The causes which produce headache are numerous 
indeed. It may be due to a disease of the brain itself, such as 
congestion or inflammation of its coverings ; to fever, such as 
remittent or typhoid; to poisons, as narcotics, alcohol, or malaria; 
to neuralgia or rheumatism of the scalp ; to uterine disorders ; to 
anaemia, plethora, dyspepsia, constipation, deranged liver, affec- 
tions of the eyes, anxiety, mental exertion, exposure to the sun, 
catarrh, kidney diseases, over-eating, abstinence from food, loss of 
sleep, ear diseases, nervous disorders, or hysteria. Indeed, headache 
is one of the most common symptoms, and may occur in almost 
any departure from the standard of perfect health. 



HEADACHE. 253 

Headache is generally supposed to be due to the most promi- 
nent morbid condition existing when it occurs. If the patient is 
dyspeptic, the dyspepsia must stand convicted of causing the 
headache ; the same with biliousness, anaemia, malaria, constipa- 
tion, and all other diseases. 

The nature of the pain, however, is characteristic of the disease 
from which it emanates. In neuralgia it is often one-sided and 
intermittent; in rheumatism the scalp is generally sore ; when it 
is due to congestion, the eyes are red and the face is flushed; 
when caused by uterine troubles, it is generally in the top of the 
head, often confined to some spot ; when due to constipation, the 
pain is dull and the mind confused. Ability to distinguish the 
exciting cause often transforms the most puzzling question of 
treatment into a happy specific. 

Treatment. — In trying to cure headache it is essential to grasp 
the conditions which attend it. Unless this is done even common 
sense cannot be used in treating it. The real cause may be hidden, 
and often is, but certain features always accompany it. When 
resulting from inflammation, congestion, or fever, great relief may be 
secured by cold applications to the head, hot mustard foot baths, and 
cooling laxatives, or a full dose of Epsom or Rochelle salts, or a 
bottle of citrate of magnesia. 

When from over-eating, an emetic may be the best thing, but 
fashion has condemned it. I have found that a Seidlitz powder, or 
a bottle of citrate of magnesia will usually give relief. The sooner it 
is taken the more good it will do. 

Bilious headache is best relieved by five grains of blue mass or 
one grain of calomel, followed in a few hours by a Seidlitz powder or 
solution of magnesia. This should be followed by small doses of 
podophyllin, regulation of the diet, and by drinking water 
freely. 

If constipation is the source, an injection of warm water and soap 
will often quickly relieve. The enema should be successful, how- 
ever. A quart or more should be injected, and the lower bowel 
emptied of its contents, followed by another injection to empty the 
upper bowel. 

If nervousness is the cause, rest, gmej,and, if possible, sleep, should 



254 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

be procured. If the head is hot, two teaspoonfuls elixir of bromide 

of potash every two hours. 

Or 

If there is weakness and nervousness, one teaspoonful elixir 
valerianate of ammonia every hour. 
Or 

Half teaspoonful of the following in water, every hour : — 

A— 254.— HEADACHE MIXTURE. 

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, 1 ounce 

Morphia, 1 grain. 

Mix. 

Malarial Headache is very common in malarious districts, 
and it is more or less periodic in its nature. Either quinine, iron, 
arsenic, or nux vomica, used as directed for malaria, is the proper 
treatment. 

Sick Headache, due to a peculiar nervous temperament either 
inherited or acquired, usually the former, is periodic in its nature, 
and a great many persons, principally women, are subject to it. 

The spells come on at irregular intervals, and are accompanied 
by severe pain, sleeplessness, extreme nervousness, loss of appe- 
tite, coated tongue, nausea, vomiting, and prostration. 

The treatment of this kind of headache is far from satisfactory. 
I wish I could name a specific, but there is none. I know that 
there are many " cures " advertised, and I have sold them for 
years, but at best they are only palliative. A Seidlitz powder will 
often modify the force of the attack. The aromatic spirits of 
ammonia and morphia recommended above will often act nicely. 
A teaspoonful may be given at the first dose. 
Or 

What is better, at the very start give one grain of calomel or 
five grains of blue mass, followed in a few hours by a Seidlitz 
powder or solution of citrate of magnesia. 

A mustard plaster on the nape of the neck or over the stomach, 
or a hot mustard foot-bath, or both, will prove beneficial. 
Or 

The following will be found a most excellent preparation : — 



HEADACHE. 255 

A— 255.— FOE NERVOUS AND SICK HEADACHE. 

Bromide of soda, 80 grains 

Bromide of ammonia, 40 grains 

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, 1 drachm 

Camphor water, 2 drachms 

Water, to make 2 ounces. 

Mix. Two teaspoonfuls, in water, every two to four hours. 

No matter from what cause the headache occurs, there are 
certain measures which admit of a general application. 

Cold applied to the head is often very beneficial, but not always; 
sometimes hot applications give most happy results. 
Or 

Bromide of potash relieves the blood-pressure of the brain, and 
when the head is hot, the temples throb, and the patient is ner- 
vous and wakeful, it is one of the best remedies we have. 
Or 

Bromo-caffeine or bromo-soda, in the form of effervescent granular 
salts, is very useful in some forms of headache. 

Tincture of aconite and tincture of belladonna, in two or three drop 
doses, are often very useful when the head is hot and the body 
feverish. 
Or 

When the headache is worse at night, and shoots from the back 
of the neck to the brow, iodide of potash, ten grains, three times a 
day, is the best remedy. 
Or 

A hot foot-bath should always be given ; use plenty of water, and 
keep it hot by adding more hot water as required. Mustard added 
to the water makes it more stimulating. 
Or 

Bathing the head in spirits, cologne, bay rum, or vinegar, is often 
grateful to the senses. Where there is acidity of the stomach, 
bicarbonate of soda or aromatic spirits of ammonia should be given. 
Or 

A cup of strong tea or coffee, especially the latter, will often re- 
lieve headache. In fact, few remedies are better than this when 
the headache is due to fatigue, such as results from a long ride 
without food or sleep. 



256 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or 

Equal parts of essence of peppermint and sulphuric ether, form an 
effectual application for headache. This is not only agreeable, 
but very useful in the neuralgic variety. 
Or 

Menthol cones, for sale in every drug store, are quite effectual in 
relieving headache. 

Two drachms of menthol, dissolved in two ounces of alcohol, 
make a delightful liniment for headache, face- and jaw-ache. 
Or 

Tincture of nux vomica is an excellent check to attacks of head- 
ache, one or two drops every three or four hours. There is no 
better remedy for the debility brought on by habitual headache 
than two to five drops of tincture of nux vomica in water, before 
meals, kept up for weeks. 

Chronic Obstinate Headache is often due to defective or 
weak eyes. In such cases a suitable pair of spectacles will afford 
complete relief. When the pain is aggravated by reading, by fine 
mechanical work, or by the rays of the sun, the eyes are generally 
at fault, and in all such cases they should be examined by an 
oculist. 

HEART DISEASES. 

Diseases of the heart are somewhat rare, and the people, as a 
whole, are extremely ignorant of their nature. Yet those who 
are afflicted with some derangement of this organ become greatly 
interested in the cause, nature, cure, and future prevention of 
heart troubles. 

Heart diseases not only relate to the organ itself, but to its 
coverings. To successfully diagnose and treat these disorders 
taxes the skill of the best educated physicians. 

Persons who have " heart disease " should secure the advice of 
the best possible physician, as it is of great importance that a 
correct diagnosis of the disease should be made, and the direc- 
tions of the physician strictly followed. By neglecting such a 
course, what is at first harmless and amendable may develop into 
an incurable and dangerous disease. 



HEART DISEASES. 257 

It should be stated that some of the worst symptoms of heart 
trouble are often the result of mere functional derangements, the 
extent of their consequences being the discomfort and alarm 
which they occasion. 

The organic diseases of the heart most common are : — 

1. Hypertrophy — enlargement of the heart with thickened 
walls. 2. Dilatation — enlargement with thin or stretched walls. 
3. Fatty Heart. 4. Diseases of its various valves. 

Hypertrophy is usually the result of some valvular trouble, 
where an extra amount of work is imposed upon the heart, over 
exercise, the use of alcohol, tobacco, coffee, self-abuse, etc. The 
force of the heart and of the pulse, are both increased in this 
disease 

Dilatation of the Heart may result from any debilitating or 
weakening influence, such as asthma, anaemia, debility, over-exer- 
tion, coffee, tea, and alcohol. But most cases of this disease are 
found in persons who are already victims of three diseases, namely, 
-a torpid liver, with its sluggish circulation and constipation, bron- 
chitis, with its cough and expectoration, and debility of the system 
generally. While this is true, other influences may induce it. 

In this disease the heart is large, and the walls are thin ; the 
organ is really stretched. The heart is weak, the circulation 
feeble, the pulse is soft, the bowels constipated, the liver torpid, 
the mind dull, the spirits dejected. Hypertrophy and dilatation 
may exist at the same time. 

Fatty Heart consists of a deposit of fat in the substance of the 
heart, at the expense of its muscular tissue. It is not generally 
suspected until the disease has made considerable progress, often 
not until the malady causes sudden death. Most cases of sudden 
deaths from " heart disease," are due to fatty degeneration, and it 
is a disease of advanced life, not occurring, as a rule, until after 
the fiftieth year. 

The Cause and Treatment of diseases of the heart may well be 
considered together, for the removal of the causes which produce 
them, is often the most important thing that can be done. It 
should be remembered that the above are organic diseases, that is, 
the substance of the heart has undergone a change, and a cure 
17 



258 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

must not be looked for. All that can be done is to prevent their 
further development. 

It is necessary to " learn to live slowly." Learn to live only three 
months while other people live twelve. To do this, not only all 
violent and exhausting exercise should be abandoned, but every- 
thing that weakens or brings fatigue. All excesses of diet should 
be avoided. Forego alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. Hypertrophy 
demands that the diet should be moderate, and an exclusive milk 
diet has been recommended ; while in dilatation the diet should 
be liberal, and great care taken that the liver and bowels are kept 
active, and that the general health be maintained. A cheerful, 
easy, temperate life is of utmost value. Never resort to digitalis 
or patent " heart regulators " without the advice of a physician. 

Pericarditis and Endocarditis. 

The heart, like most of the internal structures, is enveloped in 
a covering — in a bag, so to speak — a thin membrane called the 
pericardium. When this membrane is inflamed it is called Peri- 
carditis. 

The inner surface of the heart is also covered with a thin mem- 
brane, the endocardium, which is sometimes the seat of inflam- 
mation, and which is called Endocarditis. 

While these affections may be due to various causes, they are 
most frequently due to rheumatism. When rheumatism, scarlet 
fever, and other diseases " go to the heart," it is one of these 
membranes that becomes involved. The question of which one, 
together with the treatment, are for the family physician to 
consider. 

Valvular Disease of the Heart, or, more strictly, disease of 
the valves of the heart, is often met with in medical practice. Its 
successful treatment calls into service not only the best medical 
skill, but the faithful and intelligent co-operation of the patient. 
Dissipation, licentiousness, fast living, the use of alcohol, tobacco, 
tea, and coffee, are often guilty, in the first degree, in many of 
these affections. 

Emetics or ansesthetics should not be given to persons with 
heart disease. 



heart diseases. 259 

Palpitation of the Heart. 

When the pulsation or " beats " of the heart become stronger, 
more extensive, more sensible or audible than usual, it is called 
palpitation. It is a sensation that every one has experienced. It 
is sometimes called " fluttering " or " beating " of the heart. 

The least excitement will cause it in some persons, especially 
those who are weak, delicate, and nervous. 

Violent exercise, such as running up stairs, jumping, or excite- 
ment and fright, or indigestion, constipation, anaemia, hysteria, 
nervousness, will produce it, or, it may be due to disease of the 
heart itself, its valves or membranes. 

While the palpitation is very annoying and sometimes quite 
alarming, yet it is not a dangerous affection, nor does it indicate 
any serious disease. It is what is called a " functional " disorder, 
and the heart may not be diseased at all. 

When palpitation is due to dyspepsia, it is apt to be worse after 
meals, or at night after a late supper. When it is due to anaemia, 
tobacco, coffee, tea, or alcohol, the cause is generally apparent. 
Rheumatic and gouty persons must expect to be troubled with it 
more or less. 

Treatment. — People are always very anxious to get rid of 
palpitation, especially when it occurs at night. Perhaps it 
exercises the mind, and holds the attention more when in bed, 
and in some instances it is more severe at this time. 

The treatment consists of removing the cause, and, if honestly 
searched for, the cause can generally be found. If it is due to 
anaemia, dyspepsia, or narcotics, the indications are plain. There 
are persons who have what is known in medical parlance as 
"Irritable Heart" and they are liable to be troubled with palpita- 
tion, often without any apparent reason, or on the most trifling 
pro vocation. There are others whose heart seems to " sympathize " 
with other organs, and with the system generally. Such persons 
should live quiet, cheerful lives, avoid extremes of every kind, 
and exercise in the open air ; and, above all things, never hurry. 



260 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

HEMORRHAGES OR BLEEDINGS. 

HEMORRHAGE OF THE LUNGS. 

Hemorrhage of the lungs, or " Spitting Blood" is a common 
symptom of pulmonary disease. 

Cause. — Occasionally spitting of blood occurs without the 
lungs being seriously affected, indeed, it may occur when the 
lungs are perfectly healthy. Such, however, is not apt to be the 
case, and spitting of blood is always a strong indication that there 
is in process in the lungs the incipient progress of consumi:>tion. 
When a person has hemorrhage he should not feel frightened, 
as there is but little danger of immediate serious consequence. 

Some } T ears ago the author, to gratify a personal curiosity per- 
haps, undertook a systematic inquiry among old people, in order 
to find out whether those who lived to advanced life reached 
such an age because they had enjoyed immunity from disease or 
not. I had conceived the idea that the sickly and frail lived 
about as long as the healthy and robust, and the results of my 
investigation tended to verify the truth of my impressions. 

One of the first cases examined was one of the oldest men in 
the county, and he told me that some sixty-five years before, he 
was so troubled with hemorrhages from the lungs that he could 
not sleep nights, but for more than fifty years he had enjoyed 
fairly good health. Another case was that of a physician of 
threescore and ten, who informed me that when a young man lie 
was greatly troubled with hemorrhages. These may be excep- 
tional cases, yet it by no means follows, that because a person 
suffers from pulmonary hemorrhages, it will eventuate in con- 
sumption and death. 

Symptoms. — The main question in this connection is : Where 
does the blood come from? Medical aid is often necessary to 
determine. It may come from the stomach, the lungs, the nose, 
or the throat. 

When the blood comes from the lungs, the hemorrhage is pre- 
ceded by a sense of weight and uneasiness in the chest, the 
mouth is salty, and there is a sense of tickling in the throat, and 
with a slight cough, or without any effort to raise whatever, the 



HEMORRHAGES OR BLEEDINGS. 261 

mouth is filled with blood. It is at first pure blood, light red, 
and frothy. It may, in a few days, become more or less clotted 
and mixed with sputum. The anxiety becomes great, the skin 
becomes cold and clammy, the pulse quick and full. To the 
above symptoms add cough, debility, pale cheeks, disturbed 
breathing, loss of appetite, and general weakness. A serious 
combination is thus formed, which has coupled the spitting of 
blood with consumption of the lungs, in the popular mind. To 
recapitulate : Blood from the lungs is light red, and frothy ; 
from the nose and stomach it is dark and more or less clotted ; 
when from the lungs, there is difficulty of breathing, with cough, 
and it is often mixed with mucus or sputum ; from the stomach, 
there is vomiting and nausea; it is apt to be mixed with food and 
often looks like coffee grounds. When from the lungs, there is 
generally a history of, or a tendency to, lung disease ; when from 
the stomach, there is apt to be some gastric trouble, and clotted 
blood is apt to be passed from the bowels. 

Treatment. — There is no need of becoming frightened, but a 
physician should at once be summoned. The patient should be 
•pvJt to bed, and not allowed to move or speak. The head and 
shoulders should be slightly elevated. Ice may be slowly swal- 
lowed, and the food should be taken cold. A half teaspoonful of 
common salt, taken dry and repeated until nausea is induced, is a 
valuable household remedy. 
Or 

Ten drops of turpentine on sugar, every fifteen or twenty 
minutes. 
Or 

Dilute sulphuric acid (twenty drops) or tannic acid (three grains) 
every hour, are much used by the profession. 
Or 

Small doses of alum. 
Or 

Teaspoonful doses of fluid extract of ergot is, perhaps, the best 
remedy. Those who are subject to hemorrhages should carry a 
bottle of ergot with them. 

Ice to the cliest during the bleeding, and a mustard plaster after- 



262 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

wards, have stopped many cases and may be used. Whatever is 
done, let it be done quietly and without excitement. 

HEMORRHAGE OF THE NOSE. 

Bleeding from the nose, "Ejristaxis," may be only a few drops, 
or it may be profuse. It is generally from one nostril, and is 
much more common with children and young people than with 
adults. As a rule, it is quite harmless, seemingly to relieve 
congestion or fullness of the head, but when occurring in middle 
aged or old people, it is of more serious concern. 

Treatment. — If slight, nothing need be done, more than to 
avoid blowing the nose for a short time after the bleeding has 
ceased. If the bleeding is too prolonged or profuse, holding up the 
hand opposite the affected side, high in the air, will relieve it. 
The author has followed this plan in his own case, and in those 
cases which have come under his notice, and the cases where it 
failed are extremely few. Grasping the top or edge of a door' will 
prevent fatigue to the arm. 
Or 

Ice applied to the forehead, nose, back of the neck, or roof of the 
mouth, will generally stop it. 
Or 

Strong pressure with the hand on the lower rim of the under 
jaw is said to relieve it. 
Or 

Snuffing up the nose alum water, common salt, or dilute tincture 
of iron, is sometimes necessary. 

If ordinary measures fail, a physician should be called. 

Hemorrhages from the Tonsils, Tongue, Teeth, and Throat 
are best controlled by the use of astringent applications, washes, 
and gargles. 

HEMORRHAGE OF THE STOMACH. 

Hemorrhage from the stomach occasionally occurs, and is 
generally the result of ulcer, cancer, or inflammation of that 
organ. It may occur in dyspepsia, especially when aggravated 
by constipation. 



HERNIA OR RUPTURE. 263 

Symptoms. — It is often difficult to tell just where blood comes 
from when ejected from the mouth. When it comes from the 
stomach it is vomited, not coughed up. The blood is dark in 
color, clotted, or like coffee grounds, and often mixed with food. 
There is more or less nausea and stomach disturbance. The 
quantity vomited is no gauge of the extent of the hemorrhage. 

Treatment. — A physician should be called at once; in the 
meantime the patient should remain perfectly quiet in bed. 
Swallowing small pieces of ice, small quantities of alum water, 
tincture of iron, or twenty drops of turpentine every hour until the 
physician arrives, may stop it. 

HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. 

It is claimed that one man out of every five or six is ruptured 
in some form, but I think the estimate would be nearer the facts 
to state that about one man in every ten or twelve requires the 
use of some apparatus to prevent, or hold in subjection, this unfor- 
tunate condition. 

A hernia, or rupture, consists of an abnormal opening from the 
abdominal cavity, through which a portion of the intestine or the 
omentum, protrudes. 

The author has had much to do with this trouble, both in treat- 
ing others and by personal experience, and can keenly appreciate 
the discomfort and occasional suffering which a rupture will 
occasion. 

Kinds op Hernia. — There are many forms of rupture, named 
according to the location where the protrusion takes place. 

Inguinal Hernia is the most common, and occurs in the 
groin. It may be so small as to be almost imperceptible, or it 
may become of considerable size, and extend forward and down- 
ward. 

Fkmoral Hernia occurs much less frequently, and is located 
below the groin, at the upper portion of the thigh. It is quite 
liable to become strangulated. It seldom occurs under fifteen 
years of age. It is highly important that this variety should 
receive early and careful attention. 



264 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Umbilical Hernia is largely confined to children and corpulent 
adults. It has a tendency, when once started, to continue and grow 
larger. Persons so afflicted are apt to neglect it, but it should 
receive attention at the very first indication. 

Strangulated Hernia. — When a rupture " gets caught " and 
cannot be reduced, but causes pain, soreness, and perhaps nausea 
and vomiting, with constitutional disturbances, it is said to be 
strangulated. In such cases the intestine, outside of the opening 
in the wall of the abdomen, becomes large, and the constriction 
becomes great, causing a stoppage of the flow of food in the bowel, 
and perhaps stopping the circulation of the blood in the substance 
of the bowel itself. 

Such a condition calls for immediate and skillful aid. A phy- 
sician should always be called. Rough handling of the parts 
should be avoided. In ordinary cases, the patient himself can do 
more at reducing it than others can do for him. When possible, 
assume a position of the body which relaxes the parts and favors 
the reduction through gravity. Getting on the knees with head 
to the floor is a good position. Warm water or warm poultices 
will benefit in some cases, and in others the application of ice 
will prove helpful. Again — don't neglect to call a physician as 
early as possible. 

An Irreducible Hernia is one in which adhesions have 
formed, or other obstructions prevent the return of the bowel to 
the abdominal cavity where it belongs. Old ruptures that have 
been neglected are apt to be of this nature. But little can be 
done for their relief. 

Cause. — Anything which impairs the general tone of the sys- 
tem predisposes to hernia, Straining, lifting, long hours on the 
feet, fatiguing work, chronic cough, straining at stool, horseback 
riding, dysentery or diarrhoea, Many children are born ruptured, 
and many more with an inherited tendency to the affection. 
Many persons who are so afflicted cannot trace it to any special 
cause. It is quite rare in women. 

Symptoms. — The diagnosis of hernia is usually very easy. The 
presence of a tumor beginning within the wall of the abdomen, 
with more or less pain and uneasiness, gradually growing larger, 



HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. 265 

disappearing at night, usually disappearing when pressed upon, 
and always in the groin, scrotum, intersection of thigh and abdo- 
men, or umbilical region. 

Treatment. — The immediate treatment of rupture is, of course, 
to reduce it, — press it back into the abdominal cavity and hold it 
there. 

But the question is : What shall we do, when ruptured, to keep 
it from torturing us — and, if possible — cure it? From a long and 
extensive experience, I am prepared to say, that the very best 
thing in the world for rupture is a hard-rubber truss. To be use- 
ful, however, it must be a good one, suit our individual case, and 
FIT. 

There is nothing requiring more skill, common sense and 
patience, than fitting a person with a truss. In securing one, deal 
with a druggist who keeps a full assortment and who takes pride 
in fitting them. He should aim at a desirable and appropriate 
pattern, and a perfect fit, and not be satisfied until he has succeeded 
in furnishing it. When a truss is suited to the case, is of the 
proper weight and size, and is adjusted properly, it holds the 
rupture in, feels quite comfortable, does not get out of place, and 
needs very little strapping. 

All trusses are expected to give more or less discomfort during the 
first few days, or perhaps weeks. There is great art in wearing them. 
The patient must learn exactly where the point to be pressed upon 
by the pad is located, and the pad must be kept exactly in place. 
Don't condemn a truss before giving it a fair trial, if the druggist 
says it fits, because they are quite irritating to some people at 
the start. 

After a truss is put on, wear it constantly and never allow the 
bowel to come down without replacing it at once. If a person 
considers himself cured and can dispense with the truss, he should 
always replace it at the very first suspicion that the rupture is com- 
ing down again. It is always best to get the local druggist to 
order a truss, as his experience in taking measure, describing 
individual peculiarities in each case, and other essential points 
which others fail to notice, are of importance. 

Avoid advertisers through the mails, who charge from five to 



206 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

twenty dollars for a truss, and who guarantee a fit, etc. They are 
usually unreliable. Also beware of those who claim to cure 
rupture. " Radical cures " for hernia would need no advertising, 
if such existed. The best and only safe remedy is to faithfully 
wear a good truss until all tendency to the reappearance of the 
rupture has vanished. 

The hard-rubber truss is by far the best kind, and the less har- 
ness and machinery there is about them, the more satisfactory will 
they prove to be. I have for years sold those manufactured by 
I. B. Seeley & Co. of Philadelphia, and The Philadelphia Truss 
Co. The goods manufactured by both of these firms have given 
universal satisfaction. There are other manufacturers, however, 
whose goods are equally reliable. 

HICCOUGH. 

Hiccough is a spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm. 

Cause. — Various disturbances may produce it, among which 
are stomach, nervous, and urinary disorders, and low forms of 
disease, such as typhoid fever. 

Treatment. — Ninety-nine cases in a hundred need no treat- 
ment more than a drink of water. The hundredth case, however, 
may prove a serious disorder. I have known a few cases that 
baffled the best medical skill, and two cases that terminated 
in death before relief could be obtained. 

Hoffmann's anodyne, tincture of valerian, or spirits of camphor, in 
half-teaspoonful doses, will be found useful. 

Nitro-glycerine in doses of one-hundredth of a grain will often 
cure when other remedies fail. 

Firmly compressing the lower ribs is said to bring quick relief. 

"When it becomes habitual as an accompaniment of indigestion, 
tincture of nux vomica, or dilute muriatic acid, will prove 
beneficial. 

HIP DISEASE. 

Hip Disease, Coxalgia, is a scrofulous affection of the hip joint, 
and is much more common in children than in adults. It occurs 
most frequently in children between three and seven years of age. 



HOARSENESS. 267 

Cause. — As above stated, it is a scrofulous affection, and any- 
thing that irritates or injures the hip joint in a strumous child 
tends to induce the disease. Inadequate clothing or food, and 
debilitating diseases, often lead to it. It often comes on, however, 
without any apparent exciting cause or scrofulous taint what- 
ever. 

Symptoms. — The first indication is pain at the knee joint ; but 
if the knee is given a slight blow, the pain will be directed to the 
hip joint. Lameness soon intervenes; the body leans somewhat 
to the affected side ; in walking, the leg is somewhat bent at 
the knee, and the weight of the body is placed upon the toes. 
Pain at night becomes severe, and sleep is interfered with. 
Unless the progress of the disease is arrested, the general health 
breaks down, and the system sympathizes with the local dis- 



Treatment. — When there is the slightest indication of such 
disease a physician should at once be consulted, and his efforts to 
" nip the disease in the bud " should receive the faithful co-opera- 
tion of those concerned. It may be possible that the disease can 
be cut short and sound health be established if this is done ; but 
it requires time, patience, industry, and expense. 

The joint should be placed at absolute rest. For this purpose 
various appliances are made, and their use is indispensable. The 
general health should be built up in every possible way. The 
secretions should be kept active. The bowels, kidneys, and skin, 
should be kept in good trim. The underclothing should be of 
wool, the food should be nourishing, and easily digested. Cod-liver 
oil, iron, tonics, and constructive remedies, should be intelligently 
and faithfully administered. Dependence should be placed in 
some good physician, and his directions should be carefully 
followed. 

HOARSENESS. 

Hoarseness, as a symptom of laryngitis, has already been al- 
luded to, but it is so often treated independently of its source, that 
we give it a special place in this volume. 

Cause. — It may result from a variety of causes, such as inflam- 



268 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

mation of the larynx or of the vocal cords, tumors or other morbid 
growths, either within the larynx or outside of it, which press 
against it. Straining or over exercising the organs of speech, as 
in singing or speaking; the presence of bread crumbs, fish- 
bones, etc., in the throat ; or hysterics or nervousness, sometimes 
cause it. The source can generally be discovered. Congestion, or 
slight inflammation of the vocal cords, is overwhelmingly the 
most frequent cause. 

Treatment. — Nine-tenths of the cases of hoarseness from which 
relief is sought, result from over-action of the voice, or from colds. 
Every druggist knows what a demand there is for lozenges, etc., 
intended to relieve hoarseness. Those containing chlorate of potash, 
muriate of ammonia, guaiac, or cubebs, are all useful. 
Or 

A small piece of borax allowed to dissolve in the mouth. 
Or 

Five or ten drops of dilute nitric acid well diluted with water, 
every three or four hours, will often relieve when due to singing 
or speaking. 
Or 

Five-drop doses of wine of ipecac will benefit where there is dry- 
ness and huskiness. 
Or 

Inhaling the steam of hot water or the vapor of vinegar or sweet 
spirits of nitre will often relieve the trouble. 
Or 

Putting the end of a stick of peppermint candy through a small 
hole in the side of a lemon, and sucking the juice through it, is an 
original remedy. 
Or 

Remaining in bed and inducing perspiration by drinking freely 
of hot drinks will often cure hoarseness. 
Or 

Hartshorn and other liniments to the throat will help to scatter it. 
Or 

Equal parts of vinegar and molasses, boiled together for fifteen 
minutes and taken in teaspoonful doses, will greatly benefit. 






HYDROCEPHALUS — HYDROPHOBIA. 269 

Or 

Teaspoonful doses of syrup of horse-radish, made by thickening 
a strong infusion of the root with sugar. 



HYDROCEPHALUS. 

Hydrocephalus, dropsy of the brain, or water in the head, is a 
disease of early childhood. It consists of an accumulation of 
watery fluid within the cavity of the skull. 

Cause. — In most instances, it is due to inherited tendencies. 
An external injury, or severe, acute disease, may cause the com- 
plaint independent of any previous proclivity. 

Symptoms. — Enlargement of the cranial portion of the head, an 
apparent diminution of the size of the face, and a peculiar stare of 
the eyes, are the most characteristic symptoms. The mental 
derangements sometimes amount to idiocy; occasionally, there 
are freaks of mental precocity. Children are occasionally born 
with the disease. The head sometimes reaches an enormous 
size. 

Treatment. — Children who are .born hydrocephalic seldom 
live long. Once in a long time adult age is reached. Parents 
need to know that the science of medicine is almost helpless in 
removing the condition. If recovery takes place, it will result 
from feeding the child properly, supplying warm clothing, fresh 
air, and carefully fostering the general health. 

Cod-liver oil, syrup of iodide of iron, syrup of hypophosphites, and 
iodide of potash, are prescribed with variable success in this com- 
plaint. 

HYDROPHOBIA. 

This disease is humanized Rabies of animals, especially of the 
dog, and is always due to specific or rabic poison penetrating the 
skin or mucous membrane. No authentic case of hydrophobia 
is on record where there was not some wound or abrasion of the 
skin, or membrane of the mouth. 

It may be communicated by the bite of a dog, cat, wolf, fox, 
horse or other animal, or by the virus coming in contact with 



270 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

abraded surfaces in handling infected animals either living or 
dead. 

There is a spurious form of hydrophobia, called Lyssa 
falsa, which is sometimes induced by fright, resulting from the 
bites of perfectly healthy animals; and there are reasons for 
believing that the fear, always aroused when rabies exists in a 
neighborhood, often encourages not only spurious, but what 
sometimes passes as genuine hydrophobia. Good judgment at 
such times costs nothing, and if rightly used, will tend to avert 
all imaginary, and perhaps some real danger. 

There is a great deal of error and confusion in regard to rabies. 
No doubt many dogs that were in no way affected with the 
disease have been pronounced mad, and killed. As the only 
effectual treatment is prevention, that which aims at managing 
dogs should be radical, yet rational. When a dog is supposed to 
be mad it is always best, if it has done no damage, to kill it. If 
it has bitten any one it is best, if it can conveniently be done, to 
muzzle and confine the animal beyond doing further damage. 
If it turns out that the dog is not mad, much anxiety is averted. 
If a dog is known to be mad it should be killed at once, and if 
any dog is bitten by a mad dog it should be killed without dela}'. 

A dog, when first mad, is restless and bites at the air, howls, 
obeys with reluctance, is sometimes gentle, eats and drinks, 
gnaws litter, curtains and carpets, wipes his mouth with his paws, 
his voice changes and he becomes disposed to fight other dogs. 
These symptoms are followed by more pronounced and unmistak- 
able evidences of rabies. Such dogs become insensible to pain, 
and will bite a red-hot poker without a sense of pain ; they will 
bite themselves without seeming to feel the inflictions. 

When a person is bitten by a dog supposed to be mad, the 
ultimatum in the treatment is to prevent inoculation. Only a 
part of those bitten by dogs unquestionably mad ever have the 
disease, and if the teeth of the animal penetrated the clothing 
before inflicting a wound, the chances of immunity are greatly 
increased. 

The wound should be cauterized at once, by the application of 
lunar caustic, caustic potash, or alcohol. Sucking the wound is 



HYSTERICS. 271 

a risky, yet advisable proceeding. A physician should always 
be called for a dog bite, no matter how innocent the animal may 
be. 

Beginning with M. Pasteur of Paris, the treatment of Hydro- 
phobia has been revolutionized. Eabies antitoxin should always 
be employed. If used early its power to subdue the disease is 
remarkable. Like all other antitoxins its use belongs entirely to 
the most skillful of physicians. It is sold in one dose packages all 
ready to administer. Like all infectious diseases the matter of 
time is of first importance. 

" When people realize how much the mind has to do with the 
consequence of dog bites ; only those bitten by dogs actually mad 
will suffer any evil results ; and it is not impossible that even 
they might, through the efforts of themselves or others, be saved 
from a terrible doom. Common sense and confidence are of 
inestimable value in all cases of this kind." 



HYSTERICS-Hysteria. 

This peculiar affection is very difficult to define. It consists of 
an abnormal condition of the nervous system, manifesting itself in 
paroxysms, in which the mind and will power pass beyond indi- 
vidual control. Whether it is a loss of will power, or of the power 
to will, or only a voluntary yielding to irrational, mental, and 
physical emotions, cannot well be determined. Hysteria certainly 
opens an interesting field for study. 

It is a functional disorder. No matter how severe or how long 
a person may suffer from the affection, no changes seem to take 
place in any part of the body. Although it is often induced and 
greatly aggravated by existing diseases of the various organs of 
the body, its existence is not dependent upon any apparent dis- 
order, whatever. 

Cause. — Sex strongly influences this disease. Out of one hun- 
dred cases, over ninety will be among women, and less than ten 
among men. Heredity is perhaps the most common cause. Hys- 
terical mothers have hysterical daughters. Whether this is due 
to transmitted influences, or to association during childhood, is 



272 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

often a question difficult to decide. I am inclined to believe that 
the latter is too often overlooked. It is the easier remedied. Not 
only do mothers transmit the affection to their children, but the 
children of hysterical mothers are more apt to yield to the various 
diseases incident to childhood, than where such a tendency is 
absent. 

Environments which, in a measure, absorb the will power, be- 
come strong factors in producing hysteria. The union of physical 
pain, disease, and mental distress, makes a strong pressure on the 
mind, and in those so inclined is apt to increase the tendency in 
a greater or less degree. 

Uterine diseases are a very common cause of hysteria. Until 
recently it was considered as a characteristic symptom of uterine 
derangement, and was always so associated, but modern physicians 
give hysteria a more independent place. 

Functional derangements of the female generative organs are, 
I am quite sure, more apt to induce hysteria than the more 
serious organic diseases. No matter how apparent the causes are 
which lead to hysteria, we must always revert to the mind, and 
the nervous system, to find the focus from which the symptoms 
emanate. 

Whatever impairs the general health, excites mental disquietude, 
irritates the disposition, disturbs the affections, disappoints the 
hopes, or thwarts the natural or healthful trend of the human 
mind, has a tendency to favor the development of hysteria. 

Symptoms. — Every symptom mentioned in this book, not 
involving structural change, would fail to fully describe the many 
forms in which hysteria can manifest itself. A volume might be 
written on the symptoms of this strange and peculiar disease. 

A hysterical fit, or as it is more commonly called, a, fit of hysterics, 
consists of a strange physical phenomenon, manifesting itself in a 
hundred different ways. Two cases are never alike. It usually 
begins with a strange sensation in the region of the stomach, and 
it rises, much as if a ball were to drift up into the throat, causing 
a sense of choking and constriction. There is always intense 
nervous sensibility, and the patient may laugh, cry, sob, become 
extremely nervous, or convulsed, rigid, delirious, or lie motionless 



HYSTERICS. 273 

as if in the last stages of despair, an expression of the countenance 
which leads the practiced eye of the physician to distinguish the 
complaint. Sometimes it greatly resembles genuine epilepsy ; 
indeed, they are often associated together, and it frequently 
resembles other diseases, especially of a nervous character. I 
remember being called one night to visit a young lady who was 
reported very ill, and who lived some seven miles in the country. 
I hurried through the cold, and reached the house just at morning, 
and found the family very anxious about her condition. I sat 
down beside my patient and began to talk to her ; and in the 
faintest whisper, as if she would soon expire, the first sentence she 
uttered was : " Doctor, do you think I will be able to go to an 
entertainment up at the church to-morrow night?" With a sup- 
pressed smile, I remarked that I did not know of anything in 
the world to prevent her from going. I was told afterward that 
she went. Such persons deserve our pity, but pity should only 
be the background of the picture which duty demands that we 
hold up before them to lead them out of their hallucination. 
The symptoms of hysteria may be transient, and panoramic in 
their character, but the affection is apt to linger in some form, and 
it is pre-eminently chronic in its nature. 

Treatment. — The treatment of this affection requires patience 
and tact on the part of friends and physician. Moral, mental, and 
social factors amount to more than medicine, and the exercise of 
common sense to more than either, in dealing with hysterics. 
Health should be sought, independent of medical agents. Chil- 
dren so inclined should not be ruined by hysterical training at 
home. Moral and social influences, and education, are powerful 
' aids in subduing the tendency to hysterical paroxysms. Hope, 
cheerfulness, and pleasant surroundings, should be made use of to 
the greatest possible extent. Massage, the movement cure, calis- 
thenics, out-of-door sports, traveling, life at the sea-shore, and 
electricity, may be employed. I am inclined to believe that it is 
best to encourage those so inclined to make a hobby of some 
harmless agency, as it gives employment to the mind — a 
desideratum in this affection. 

The medical treatment, for obvious reasons, should be largely 

18 



274 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

left with the profession. At most, but little benefit can accrue 
from the use of drugs. 

Asafostida in pill form is perhaps one of the best remedies. One 
three-grain pill three times daily will often prove highly beneficial. 
Or 

During an acute attack teaspoonful doses of Elixir Valerianate 
of Ammonia every three or four hours are excellent. 
Or 

If there is great mental excitement, with headache, a teaspoonful 
of Elixir Bromide of Potash every three hours is the best remedy. 

The general health must be kept at its best. The secretions 
should be kept active, the mind should be tranquil, and the 
conscience void of offence. 

Excitement must be avoided. Another thing to be avoided is 
mentioning the word " hysterics " in hearing of the patient. This 
suggestion points to others which might be mentioned ; suffice 
to say, surround such persons with such things as are conducive 
to health, happiness, and freedom from anxiety. Do not give 
stimulants, chloral, or opiates, in this complaint; they will only 
result in harm. 



DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 



The ailments occurring during infancy and childhood always 
cause much parental concern ; yet it is seldom indeed that medi- 
cine is needed during the early months of child-life. Children 
are so impressible to mild measures that corrections of diet, cloth- 
ing, atmosphere, or habits, are, in nine cases out of ten, all that is 
necessary to be done. 

Medicines should always be the last resort. Baby cordials, 
soothing syrups, and the long list of anodynes, are baneful in the 
extreme, and maternal instinct should consign them to oblivion. 
"Too much care and nursing of children is quite as harm- 
ful as too little. It is ordinarily better to make light of 



DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 275 

their ailments and teach them the power of self-resistance to 
the encroachments of disease. A cheerful, hopeful manner, 
accompanied by an encouraging word, is quite as helpful in sick- 
ness of children as in that of adults. 

"Do not discuss their ailments before them. Avoid hinting 
that sickness is possible, or anticipating it for them as results of 
certain conduct. Keep it from your own mind also. Never allow 
yourself to say, ' If you go out in the cold you will get sick ; ' 
1 Don't sit by the window, you will take cold ; ' ' Now do get out 
of that draft ; ' ' You must not eat so much ; now there, not one 
mouthful more, you will be sick ; ' ' Get good and warm before you 
go out in the cold.' 

" Now, dear mothers, this may be a new thought to you, but this 
very caution, born of love and solicitude, creates a fear that may 
make it possible for jomy children to be sick. Let a child lead 
an active, rollicking life in harmony with nature, and in himself 
will be certainly developed power to resist disease. It is possible 
to make health contagious." It must not be inferred, however, 
that children are never seriously sick and that medical aid is not 
required in their behalf. Far from it. One-third of a physician's 
practice is devoted to the treatment of the ailments of infancy and 
childhood, and so serious are these diseases that one child in five 
dies within one year after birth, and one in three before the com- 
pletion of the fifth j^ear. 

Advancing civilization has not conformed to the best interests 
of recruiting generations ; the modern child may boast of many 
advantages over its predecessors, but, as far as inherited physical 
strength and the power of resistance are concerned, there has been 
no improvement. The rearing of healthy children should be an 
ideal acquirement, and whatever will conduce to healthy offspring, 
prevent infantile diseases, or cure those overtaken with sickness, 
should be carefully studied by those to whom is entrusted the 
perpetuity of the human race. 

In the treatment of sick children it is the little things which count; 
the numberless little attentions which the instinct of an intelligent 
mother gives to her child are infinitely more potent than any 
drug can possibly be. Parental affection is never more powerful 



276 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

than when ministering to a stricken child. Confidence in those 
ahout it is as important to a sick infant or child as fresh air. The 
confidence children have in the family physician should be care- 
fully fostered. Speak in the presence of your children with respect 
and kindness of your family doctor, so that the little ones may 
look upon him as a friend — as one who will strive, with God's 
blessing, to relieve their pains and sufferings. Remember the 
increased power of doing good the doctor will have if a child be 
induced to like, instead of to dislike him. Never allow a child to 
be frightened by saying that a doctor will be sent for, who will 
either give some nasty medicine or inflict some cruel operation 
upon him. It is a great mistake, when addressing children, to 
make the doctor an object of terror.* 

CHOLERA INFANTUM. 

Cholera infantum, or summer complaint, is a very destructive 
disease to young children. Especially in large cities, during the 
summer months, the death rate from cholera infantum sometimes 
reaches frightful proportions. 

Cause. — Extreme and prolonged heat, improper food and bad 
sanitary conditions, teething, and the non-resisting powers of 
infancy. 

Symptoms. — The disease usually begins abruptly with severe 
vomiting, purging, and thirst ; the child refuses food, is languid, 
weak, stupid, and rapidly loses flesh ; in some cases emaciation is 
remarkably rapid. The purging and vomiting vary in different 
cases, sometimes one and sometimes the other being most promi- 
nent. Children after the fourth year are much less liable to it. 
Teething is generally associated with the disease, and most of the 
cases occur during the second summer. The duration of the 
complaint is usually less than a week. 

Treatment. — Being pre-eminently a city disease, immediate 
removal to the country or seashore is always to be considered, or— 



* As a suitable book for mothers the author takes pleasure in recommending 
Maternity, Infancy, and Childhood, by John M. Keating, M. D. J. B. Lippincott & 
Co., Philadelphia. Price $1.00, bv «m& 



DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 277 

what is far better — going before it occurs. Breathing the country 
air for one day will often cure, and if this is impossible the day 
should be spent in a park or open square. Pure air should be 
secured by thorough ventilation and cleanliness of the strictest sort. 
Visitors should be prohibited from the sick room, the clothing 
should be light, clean, dry, and suited to changes of temperature. 
The bed should be comfortable, and a feather bed should not be 
used. 

If the teeth are coming through the gum, they may require 
lancing. Rubbing them ivith ice is very soothing. A few pieces 
can be tied up in a clean rag and used to better advantage than 
by holding it with the fingers. 

Paregoric is very soothing to the gums when rubbed on, and is 
acceptable to children. 

Food is of the greatest importance. No more food should be 
given than necessary. The best milk obtainable is the best food 
(except mother's milk) that can be used. The following may be 
used instead : — 

Add one ounce of barley, crushed, to a quart of water, boil for 
twenty minutes and strain. Can be given with condensed milk, 
one part to ten. A tablespoonful of lime water may be added and 
given in the bottle if the child is too young to feed. 

Castor oil and spiced syrup of rhubarb are good articles to empty 
the bowels. A warm foot bath and a spiceplaster over the stomach 
are both useful. A tepid bath each day will be apt to benefit. 
Sometimes two or three drops of laudanum in starch water thrown 
into the bowel with a small syringe, and repeated if necessary, will 
help to control the bowels. 

The following is an excellent mixture : — 

A— 277. 

Aromatic spirits of ammonia, 25 drops 

Paregoric, 1 drachm 

Spiced syrup of rhubarb, 1 ounce 

Peppermint water, to make 2 ounces. 

A teaspoonful every two to four liours. 

A full dose (A' paregoric, repeated if the first dose is vomited, will 
often greatly modify cholera infantum. 



278 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

INFANTILE COLIC. 

Colic is of very frequent occurrence during infancy. Some 
children are particularly prone to it, and their early months are 
an almost constant season of suffering. Improper diet on the 
part of the mother is perhaps the most frequent cause. When 
the system is over-supplied with carbonates in the form of starch, 
fats, and sugar, and deficient in tissue food, such as gluten, fibrin, 
and albumin, colic is apt to prevail. 

Treatment. — Let the diet of the mother be chiefly of barley, 
wheatlet, rolled wheat, and bread from Graham flour, with the 
addition of fish, milk, and eggs. Fruits can be partaken of freely, 
avoiding those that are exceedingly acid. It is only when fruit is 
not eaten all the time that colic in the child is caused by the 
mother's partaking of it. If it has been eaten freely during 
pregnancy, it will do no harm during lactation. 

When a baby is fed artificially, foods which cause colic, be they 
cow's milk or the various baby-foods of the drug store, should be 
avoided. Some authors have endeavored to instruct mothers in 
regard to the use of baby -foods as sold by the druggists, but after 
selling them promiscuously for many years I must confess that 
I have not found much difference between them, as far as the 
general satisfaction they give is concerned. Lactated Food, Imperial 
Granum, Mellin's Food, Blair's Wheat Food, Horlictts Food, Caruncle's 
Food, Nestle' s Food, and many others are all excellent, but none 
of them will suit every case. 

A diligent endeavor should be made to find out the cause of 
colic, and avoid, if possible, a resort to carminatives or anodynes. 

Catnip tea is an old and popular remedy for colic in babies, and 
it is as free from objections as anything. Given warm and 
sweetened, it is both pleasant to the taste and effectual as a 
remedy. A few teaspoonfuls of very ivarm water will often relieve. 
One drop doses of essence of peppermint in warm water are very 
effectual, but are somewhat objectionable. A peppermint lozenge 
dissolved in warm water and given as necessary serves a useful 
purpose. A warm bath will usually afford prompt relief. If a 
child suffers with severe griping pains, flannel cloths should be 
wrung out in warm water and laid over the abdomen, and 



DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 279 

frequently renewed. An enema of soap and warm water will often 
afford immediate relief. 

Children predisposed to colic should be kept warm; and 
approaching attacks can often be set aside by the application of a 
warm cloth or warm water bottle over the abdomen. Don't get in 
the habit of dosing children with soothing syrups, paregoric, 
Bateman's drops, Godfrey's cordial, Dewees's carminative, castoria, 
and the various anodynes of the drug store. I know the tempta- 
tion to use them is great, and that the practice of resorting to 
these things has received almost universal sanction; yet their 
ultimate effects are infinitely worse than the ailments which they 
are intended to relieve. 

CONSTIPATION. 

Constipation among infants seems to be on the increase. " My 
baby is awfully constipated ; what can I do for it ? " is a question 
asked by a host of mothers. Children are born with a strong 
predisposition to the complaint, and artificial means to empty 
the bowels seem, in many instances, to be absolutely necessary. 

Treatment. — When mothers are so troubled, their children 
naturally inherit the tendency, and they can often overcome the 
habit in both themselves and their nursing children by radically 
changing their diet. The general directions given in the 
chapter on constipation will be found useful to mothers so 
troubled. 

An effort should be made to train an infant into regular 
habits. " If a child is fed or nursed regularly, and held out at 
the same time of each day, and as he gets older is put upon a 
chair, he will seldom be troubled with this complaint. It is 
wonderful how soon the bowels, in most cases, by this simple 
plan, may be brought into a regular habit." 

Do not begin to give a child laxative drugs. If the use of them 
is once commenced, it is astonishing how soon they become a 
necessity. Babies might be numbered by the tens of thousands 
who seldom have an operation unless as the result of a dose of 
some medicine. The inevitable result of the use of purgative 
medicines is a constipated habit. 



280 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Introducing a piece of Castile soap, cut about the size of a lead- 
pencil and about two inches long, into the bowel, will produce an 
evacuation in from one to five minutes. The soap should be 
oiled or wet with warm water before insertion. If the discharges 
are dry and hard, it is better to give an injection of ivarm soap- 
suds. An infant syringe can be procured at any drug store. 
The nozzle should be oiled each time before it is used. No 
more than necessary should be introduced. Gently rubbing 
the abdomen of a child with the hand tends to promote the 
action of the bowels. Castor oil rubbed over the abdomen will 
produce a cathartic action, and may be so employed without 
detriment. 

DIARRHCEA AND SUMMER COMPLAINT. 

During dentition, more particularly during the second summer, 
children are very liable to suffer more or less from irritation and 
inflammation of the bowels, attended with frequent discharges of 
an unnatural character. 

Cause. — It is often an effort of nature to get rid of irritating 
substances. When too much food or improper food is given to a 
child, the irritation is sure to disturb the bowels. If mothers 
would nurse their children less frequently and teach them to 
drink water, there would be less summer complaint. 

Treatment. — A specialist on this subject says : " I cannot lay 
too much stress on the importance of water, especially in the 
summer time ; when given judiciously and frequently, it may 
often save the child an attack of summer complaint. Give cool 
water ; do not give iced water, but let it be pure, filtered always, 
and if there is the least suspicion of its purity have it boiled. Do 
not put sugar in it." 

Too much attention cannot be given to cleanliness. If a child 
uses the nursing bottle, no tubes or " fixtures " should be used in 
hot weather, as it is next to impossible to keep them clean. A 
rubber nipple fitting over the mouth of the bottle is the only safe 
contrivance, and these should be renewed every few days and 
frequently washed. The very best milk obtainable should be 
used. The various baby foods on the market answer an excellent 



DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 281 

purpose, not only in preventing, but in curing summer complaint. 
Don't feed too much. 

One of the most used and best remedies is spiced syrup of rhu- 
barb. Sometimes it may be mixed with an equal quantity of castor 
oil with advantage. If there is much acidity of the stomach, 
small doses of magnesia answer a good purpose. 

If diarrhoea becomes severe, a physician should be called. 

EXCORIATIONS. 

The surface of the skin of the groin, axilla, and neck, frequently 
becomes raw, inflamed, and painful, in very fat babies. 

Treatment. — The parts should be carefully but frequently 
washed with tepid water, or, what is better, milk and water. A 
small teaspoonful of borax added to a pint of water forms a most 
excellent wash, especially if there is much inflammation. Vaseline, 
refined petrolatum, or sweet cream, are soothing and beneficial. 
Scorched flour has been recommended as a dusting powder. 

TEETHING. 

The process of teething, or Dentition, is often attended with 
symptoms requiring treatment. The food and general conditions 
of the child, no doubt, have much to do with the severity of the 
complaint. The most common Symptoms are swollen gums, fever, 
restlessness, sleeplessness, derangements of the stomach and 
bowels, eruptions on the skin, etc. Summer complaint is often 
due to teething. 

Treatment. — Nature's remedy seems to be bathing the gums 
in saliva, and whatever tends to keep the gums moist and cool 
will promote relief. Wetting them in cold water, allowing the child 
to drink cold water, rubbing the gums with the finger, and in 
severe cases lancing them, are all calculated to benefit. A chicken 
bone or other small bone, or a piece of rare roasted beef, slightly salted, 
will serve a useful purpose. The teething rings and rubbers to be 
found in every drug store are to be recommended ; the rubbers 
are intended for the front teeth and the rings for the jaw teeth. 
Lancing the gnms is sometimes necessary. Gently rubbing them 



282 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

with the finger, previously moistened with paregoric or sweet 
of nitre, soothes the irritation. "The utmost care should be 
observed that the mother's milk should not be vitiated by excite- 
ment, undue exertion, improper food, or stimulants." Caution 
must be exercised in regard to the child's food, and if there are 
derangements of the digestion, or if the child is constipated, these 
things must be removed. The various teething cordials are to be 
avoided. 

THRUSH-Aphthse-Sore Mouth. 

While this affection may occur at all ages, it is most common 
in early childhood. Delicate and feeble children that are exposed 
to bad hygienic surroundings are most liable to it. It is generally 
associated with disorders of the stomach and bowels, and especially 
with prolonged diarrhoea. Improper feeding is the chief exciting 
cause. 

Symptoms. — Irregular, roundish, white specks on the lips, tongue, 
and mouth, giving the affected parts the appearance of curds and 
whey having been smeared upon them. The mouth is hot and 
painful and the infant refuses to nurse. The disease may be mild 
or severe. 

Treatment. — The main thing to do is to regulate the diet. The 
child should be systematically fed on one kind of food entirely until 
he recovers. If it nurses, nothing but mother's milk should be 
allowed ; if it uses cow's milk, that coming from one cow only 
should be allowed, and it should be sweet and fresh. Everything 
should be kept scrupulously clean and the child allowed to 
breathe pure air. Small doses of magnesia are generally beneficial. 
The best local remedy is borax and honey, frequently smeared upon 
the affected parts with the finger. Equal parts of borax and pow- 
dered sugar, dusted on, answers an excellent purpose. Severe cases 
require the advice of a physician, as more active measures may 
be necessary than is prudent for any one else to adopt. Pure air, 
cleanliness, ventilation, and simple measures, such as are recom- 
mended above will, however, often render his services unnecessary. 
The following will be found an excellent application ; — 



IDIOSYNCRASY INFLUENZA. 283 

A— 283.— FOE SORE MOUTH IN CHILDEEN. 

Chlorate of potash, 30 grains 

Honey, 2 drachms 

Water, enough to make 2 ounces. 

Mix. Wash the mouth several times a day, using a soft rag. 

In some localities an infusion of gold-thread is used as a mouth- 
wash for children. 

IDIOSYNCRASY. 

Idiosyncrasy, in the medical sense of the word, signifies a 
peculiar individual organization, on account of which medicine 
will have an effect upon certain individuals different from what is 
to be expected when generally administered. 

In general practice, patients will be found who cannot bear the 
least amount of certain medicines ; there are other persons upon 
whom ordinary doses of some medicines will have no apparent 
effect whatever, and still others upon whom medicines will have 
an effect entirely different from that usually experienced. 

Morphia, as a rule, induces sleep, but sometimes the effect is 
just the opposite ; some persons cannot take even small doses of 
quinine with impunity ; others cannot enter a room where pow- 
dered ipecac is being handled without violent paroxysms of 
asthma ; the odor of senna will purge some people ; the least sight 
of blood will cause some persons to faint. Some persons have a 
peculiar intolerance of calomel or opium, and ordinary doses 
sometimes produce alarming symptoms ; arsenic, strychnia, and 
tartar emetic might be added to the list. When medicines 
produce an unlooked-for or poisonous effect, it is not always an 
indication that an overdose has been taken ; it may be due to the 
idiosyncrasy of the patient. 

INFLUENZA-La Grippe. 

Influenza, Epidemic Cold, Epidemic Catarrh, Grippe, La Grippe, 
Epidemic Catarrhal Fever, etc., are synonymous terms, and refer 
to a disease that has made itself well known throughout Europe 
and America during the past few years. It has proved to be the 
greatest disease scourge of modern times. 



284 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Influenza is a specific, self-limited, epidemic fever, characterized 
by a catarrhal inflammation of the nose, throat, upper air passages, 
and often of the lungs, and also, in many cases, of the membranes 
of the digestive tract, b} r nervous symptoms, and by great debility. 

Cause. — Influenza, as everybody knows, sweeps over the 
country, traveling thousands of miles, finding its way into 
almost every household. Susceptibility has much to do with its 
prevalence and force. Some persons seem to resist it entirely, 
while others are attacked at each epidemic. Physicians have not 
fully decided through what medium it travels, but the theory 
that it is due to the presence of micro-organisms or microbes, 
which multiply rapidly and contaminate the atmosphere, will no 
doubt be universally accepted as a scientific fact. No measure 
yet adopted has, to any perceptible degree, prevented its propa- 
gation. 

Influenza is not confined to man alone, but it attacks horses, 
cattle, dogs, chickens, and other species of the lower animals. 
It is said that during an epidemic birds will migrate to a section 
exempt from its influence. No age or condition in life seems 
proof against it ; but children are somewhat less liable to it than 
adults. 

The number of deaths from its effects during the past few years 
has been enormous. In some localities, embracing large cities, 
there has been an almost universal contracting of the disease. 
In this respect it rivals any plague of any age. Perhaps it is not 
far from correct to say that " during an epidemic of La Grippe or 
influenza, a few persons, chiefly aged and feeble, are apt to die 
from the effect of the disease, many become seriously sick and 
remain so for several days or weeks, a still larger number 
become from one-half to three-fourths sick and remain so for a 
few days, while most of the remainder of the people are far from 
being well during the time." 

Symptoms. — Some cases are extremely mild and almost free 
from any well defined symptoms ; other cases of uncomplicated 
influenza are much more severe and follow a somewhat regular 
course, while a third class of cases become complicated with lung, 
heart, kidney, or nervous diseases, and require every possible 



INFLUENZA. 285 

measure to maintain the powers of life and bring about recovery. 
The milder cases are marked by more or less fever, sore throat, 
headache, pain in the back and limbs, and a sense of weakness. 
Severe cases begin with a chill or chilliness, alternating with 
flushes of heat, followed by fever. The fever, however, is not at 
all uniform, often intermitting in the morning. 

Among the symptoms are severe headache, pain in the eyes and 
at the root of the nose, and sneezing, accompanied with an 
abundant watery discharge. In some cases the nose bleeds ; and 
we find sore throat, with a sense of tickling, a dry, hard, distress- 
ing cough, hoarseness and shortness of breath, pain in the chest, 
loss of the senses of smell and taste, pain in the back, muscles, and 
limbs, loss of appetite, and a sense of abjectness and great pros- 
tration. Aged or delicate persons, or those who have weak lungs, 
or who have heart or kidney disease, are apt to suffer most from 
influenza. The weak point is apt to receive the force of the 
disease, and the mortality among such subjects is great. 

Unless care is exercised during convalescence, pneumonia will 
occur in a large number of cases, and the remnant of the poison 
left in the system, combined with the prostrated powers of the 
patient, will render such a relapse a dangerous occurrence. Mild 
cases last only a few days, moderate types less than a week, as a 
rule, but severe and complicated cases are often of several weeks' 
duration, followed by a tedious and long delayed recovery. 

Treatment. — Influenza, like all epidemic diseases, usually 
receives some popular treatment, which, perhaps modified by 
some ingenious local physician or druggist, is adopted during the 
excitement which the disease causes. There is no specific, and 
no really satisfactory plan of treatment. The best and most 
learned of the profession simply adhere to " general principles " 
as their guide in administering medicines. 

Mild, uncomplicated cases, occurring in healthy persons, 
require little or no treatment other than a resort to a light 
diet and extra care of the body for the time being. Ordinary 
cases are best treated by the early use of liberal doses of quinine. 
It is claimed for it that a full dose of quinine — 15 or 20 grains — 
at the bcffinnino; will sometimes cut short an attack of influenza, 



286 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

but such cases are, no doubt, rare. From 10 to 15 grains should 
be taken during the first da}', after which one two-grain pill should 
be taken from three to five times daily. It is said that when the 
grippe first broke out in America, such was its violence, that one 
pill manufacturer sold two millions of quinine pills in about two 
months. They are the main dependence in this disease. The 
patient should remain indoors, and forego the use of meats as a 
diet. Cold lemonade or Seltzer-water, and milk with ice or Koumiss, 
are excellent remedies for the fever, irritated throat, and thirst. 
But a small quantity should be taken at a time. If the bowels are 
constipated, mild laxatives should be given. 

Rendering the air of the room moist by keeping an open pan 
of water on the stove will tend to make the breathing easier. 

If the nose or throat becomes very dry and irritated, put a 
teaspoonful of Turlington's balsam, or a tablespoonful of paregoric 
in a pitcher or other vessel, pour on it a pint of boiling water and 
inhale the steam. 

If the tonsils are enlarged and inflamed, the following should 
be used every hour as a — 

A— 286.— GARGLE. 

Chlorate of potash, 1 drachm 

Fluid extract sumach, 4 drachms 

Water, to make 3 ounces. 

The above makes a very unscientific-looking mixture, but it is 
effectual as a gargle. Instead of the above, a saturated solution 
of chlorate of potash (one ounce to a pint of water) may be used. 

Antipyrine and antifebrin have been largely used to control 
the fever and modify the headache of influenza, but their use in 
this disease, unless prescribed by a physician, cannot be too 
strongly condemned. The same might also be said of chloral. 
They are all powerful depressants, and on this account are 
unsuitable in this affection. They should be left with the pro- 
fession entirely, and when prescribed for la grippe their effect 
should be carefully watched. All except very mild cases of 
influenza require the services of the family physician, and when 
aged or delicate persons, or those who are the victims of lung, 
heart, or kidney disease, contract it, they should receive profes- 



INGROWING TOE NAILS. 287 

sional treatment at once. During an epidemic all such persons 
should protect their health in every possible way, in order to 
fortify themselves against the depressing influence of the disease 
should they contract it. 

Extra caution to avoid a relapse should be exercised during 
convalescence. An attack of pneumonia at this time is not only 
easily contracted, but it at once becomes a formidable sequel. 
Should recovery not be complete, tonics and other appropriate 
remedies should be used. Iron, cod-liver oil, or, as a combination, 
the elixir of pyrophosphate iron, quinine, and strychnine, is one of 
the best remedies. 

" Give up early and do not go out too soon, The community that 
learns this quickest will have learned to avoid much suffering and 



INGROWING TOE NAILS. 

This affection is confined almost exclusively to the nail of the 
great toe. When the swelling is great and ulceration fully devel- 
oped, it is a source of great discomfort and pain. 

Cause. — Inherited tendencies, wearing narrow-toed, high-heeled 
shoes, and neglecting to keep the nails properly trimmed and free 
from accumulations of foreign material. 

Treatment. — The parts should be relieved of all pressure. 
Shoes with broad, roomy toes and low heels should be worn. The 
stockings should not compress the toes. The nails should be 
trimmed square across ; the corners allowed to extend beyond the 
flesh. What is better, scrape the centre of the nail very thin with 
a knife or piece of glass, and cut a deep notch in the centre of the 
free end of the nail. 

Remove all foreign matter from the seat of the inflammation. 
Apply a coating of collodion, and then gently press a small roll 
of absorbent cotton or lint between the nail and the sore parts ; 
hold this in place by a piece of adhesive plaster around the end 
of the toe ; renew every day until a cure is effected. 
Or 

Freely dust the parts with powdered nitrate of lead daily, until 
a crust forms, and when the crust loosens repeat the operation. 



288 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or 

Pour melted tallow in between the soft parts and the nail, and 
repeat as often as necessary. 
Or 

The following is said to quickly relieve : — 

A— 288. 

Tannic acid, & ounce 

Water, 3 drachms. 

Mix, and dissolve by gentle heat. 

Thoroughly apply to the soft parts twice a clay. 



INSOMNIA. 

This affection, also called Sleeplessness and Wakefulness, is ina- 
bility to sleep during the hours devoted to that purpose in health. 

Cause. — Disturbed sleej) attends almost every departure from 
health or over exertion of body or mind. Over-eating, especially 
just before retiring, fever, exhaustion, congestion of the brain, 
anxiety, trouble, mental strain, pain, nervousness and many 
other influences, act as disturbers of sleep. 

Treatment. — The exercise of common sense will do more to 
secure sleep than anything else. The cause of sleeplessness is 
generally easy to find, if it is only looked for, and when it is 
overcome, sleep is certain. Xo definite rules can be laid down as 
suited to more than a small number of cases. Each case gener- 
ally requires peculiar remedies. It is a great mistake to depend 
upon morphia, chloral, bromide of potash, and other hypnotics, 
to overcome every little fit of wakefulness. If there is fever, a 
tepid sponge bath with appropriate remedies will answer ; if there 
is exhaustion, nourishment or perhaps a stimulant is required ; if 
the head is hot, the application of cold to the head and heat to 
the extremities will be necessary; if nervousness is the cause, 
quietness, some nervine, as asafoetida or perhaps bromide of potash, 
should be resorted to ; if it is due to anxiety, trouble, or mental 
strain, the cause must be removed before any permanent aid can 
be effected. 

Sometimes washing the face will invite sleep. Taking a brisk 



INTOXICATION. 289 

walk in the open air will sometimes produce the happiest results. 
Cold feet are a very frequent cause of sleeplessness, and can easily 
be overcome by a hot foot-bath before retiring, followed by friction, 
or by the use of a rubber hot-water bottle. 

The head should be slightly raised in bed. Try a hop pillow. 
Sometimes a little light lunch or a glass of warm milk will 
induce sleep. A cold, rather than a warm room, invites sleep. 
Impure air is apt to echo the words, " I can't sleep." 

No medicine should be taken to produce sleep, unless pre- 
scribed by a physician. Chloral, sulphonal, hypnal, chloralamid, 
paraldehyde, croton-chloral, caffeine, antipyrine, antifebrin, etc., 
are exceedingly pernicious drugs, except in the hands of care- 
ful and judicious physicians. Laudanum, opium, and mor- 
phine, are only suited for rare and peculiar cases associated with 
pain. For simple wakefulness they are not appropriate. Elixir 
of bromide of potash is the most innocent sleep producer. It is 
well adapted to a large number of cases, especially where the 
head is hot, and the mind or nerves are excited. The dose is 
from one to three teaspoonfuls. 



INTOXICATION. 

The state of intoxication, acute alcoholism or drunkenness, the 
result of drinking alcoholic liquors, sometimes requires medical 
treatment. 

At no stage of it, even at the point of being " dead drunk," is 
the subject in any real danger of his life. It is, moreover, a con- 
dition usually brought on by the voluntary act of the sufferer, and 
medical interference is not, as a rule, on the side of policy. There 
are cases, however, when it is necessary to sober a person who is 
intoxicated. 

An emetic is usually a good thing to give first, unless there are 
good reasons why it should not be administered. When a person 
is dead drunk a physician only should administer an emetic. 
Or 

Tal >1 ('spoonful doses of vinegar diluted with water will hasten 
the sobering process. 

19 



290 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or 

Large doses of spirits of mindererus are said to answer the same 
purpose. 
Or 

Teaspoonful doses of aromatic spirits of ammonia diluted with 
water are very useful. 
Or 

Strong black coffee is a remedy always at hand, and in most 
cases it acts very well. 

If the head is hot and the feet cold, the circulation should be 
regulated by applying cold water or ice to the head, and warmth 
to the feet and limbs. Plenty of food, and especially milk, have 
a tendency to relieve intoxication, and hurry the return to a 
normal condition of mind and body. 

It is a mistake to resort to drugs to get relief during the decline 
of a spree, and the habit some persons have of tapering off by 
using Jamaica ginger, tincture of valerian, or any other drug, is a 
practice not to be encouraged. A cup of pepper tea, now and then 
during this period, will greatly relieve the craving anxiety. 

Never be entirely sure that persons are dead drunk when they 
seem so. It may be apoplexy, concussion of the brain, poisoning, 
or a severe case of pneumonia. A correct conclusion in these 
cases sometimes baffles the best trained physicians. If doubt 
exists, as when a person is found lying out in the cold, without 
special reasons for believing him to be intoxicated, a physician 
should always be called, and such directions as he may suggest 
should be carried out. 



ITCHING OF THE SKIN. 

Itching of the skin may result from a number of causes, and 
occasionally it becomes a source of great annoyance. 

Treatment. — Sometimes washing the parts with a strong solu- 
tion of bicarbonate of soda or of borax will relieve. Carbolated 
cosmoline or extract of witch hazel are often used. 

No matter what the cause may be, relief will follow sponging 
the patient with the following : — 



JAUNDICE. 291 

A— 291.— LOTION FOE ITCHING OF THE SKIN. 

Carbolic acid, 1 drachm 

Glycerine, £ ounce 

Eose water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. Use as a lotion. 



JAUNDICE. 

Jaundice, Icterus, is, as a rule, only a symptom. It manifests 
itself by a yellow discoloration of the skin and eyeballs, due to the 
presence of bile. 

Cause. — Whatever interferes with the normal activity of the 
liver, or prevents the escape of the bile from the liver into the 
bowel has a tendency to induce jaundice. It is an almost con- 
stant symptom of the various organic disorders of the liver. The 
presence of gall stones, or, what is a more common cause, a 
catarrhal condition of the gall-duct, both give rise to jaundice. 
Fright and violent anger have been known to produce it. Malaria 
will sometimes cause it. 

Symptoms. — Yellowness of the skin and conjunctiva, are the 
only symptoms in some cases ; but, as a rule, there is more or less 
hepatic or gastro-intestinal disturbance. The yellow is usually 
first seen in the eyes. The pulse is slow, the urine high-colored, 
sometimes quite dark, the stools are light and clay-colored. There 
is headache, despondency, drowsiness, inability to sleep, and the 
vision is yellowish. Sometimes there is an itching of the skin, 
and boils occasionally accompany the complaint. 

Treatment. — The diet should be regulated. Fats, starches, 
and sweets, should be discarded. Malt liquors, wines, and spirits, 
should be abandoned entirely. An exclusive diet of skimmed 
milk, kept up for two weeks, if possible, followed by milk toast, 
meat broths and lemonade, and finally, a diet largely composed of 
acid fruits and fresh meats, are measures to be commended. 

The medical treatment should aim at the cause, if possible. 

Saline purgatives are sure to benefit. Cream of tartar, Rochclle 
salts and podophyllin in mild doses, will seldom fail to act favorably. 
Or 

Perhaps, the best laxative for jaundice is one teaspoonful of phos- 



292 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

phate of soda in a cup of warm water, three times daily, before 

meals. 

Or 

Thirty grains of powdered ipecac every twenty minutes until 
vomiting is induced, is an excellent " starter " when the jaundice 
is due to a catarrhal condition of the system. Follow this with 
phosphate of soda. 
Or 

One-twelfth of a grain of calomel, three times a day, in connec- 
tion with the use of some purgative mineral water, as Hunyadi. 
Or 

If the jaundice is of a chronic nature, five drops nitro-rnuriatic 
acid, well diluted, three times a day, and continued for a long 
time. 
Or 

The above acid may be used in the form of a bath externally, 
as directed under the article entitled " Nitro-Muriatic Acid," in 
this book. 
Or 

The following is recommended by high authority : Inject into 
the bowel, twice daily, from two to four pints of warm water, and 
retain it as long as possible, to be continued for several days. 
Tonics, such as nux vomica and quinine are often beneficial, 
especially in malarial districts. 



KIDNEY DISEASES. 

Affections of the kidneys have attracted widespread attention 
during the past few years, due to the fact that medical research 
has brought to light many discoveries in regard to these organs ; 
and to another fact, namely, medical advertisers have diligently 
made use of the mystery, subtleness, and occasional seriousness 
of this class of diseases, to keep the people anxiously concerned. 

" Kidney Cures " are quite as numerous as " Liver Cures," and 
the kidneys have experienced an ordeal in being dosed with 
saltpetre, dandelion, buchu, and other drugs, the survival 
of which, in numberless cases, has proved that these important 






KIDNEY DISEASES. 293 

organs are able to withstand an abundance of irritation and 
imposition. The use of kidney medicines has been carried to an 
unwarranted extreme. 

Owing to the fact that the discharges of the kidneys admit of 
easy inspection, and that it is not difficult to associate any discre- 
pancy in their action with derangements of other important organs, 
the least departure from a normal condition is apt to arouse 
concern. The subject of the kidneys should never disturb the 
mind. They very seldom become diseased — it might be said that 
they are remarkably exempt from serious derangements — but when 
they do become involved, medicine is of very little avail, and 
the various " kidney cures " are not only misnomers, but beyond 
the realm of practical utility. In such cases, an intelligent 
physician only should be trusted. 

Diabetes, Bright's disease, and other kidney affections have 
become familiar terms, in almost every household, yet not five 
persons in a thousand ever experience a real organic ailment 
of these organs. If the subject could be universally dismissed 
from popular consideration, the effect would be eminently 
salutar} r . 

CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 

These conditions are very similar, and both result from the 
same cause. They may result from exposure to cold, over- 
dosing with irritating medicines, or from injuries. Congestion is 
sometimes the result of feeble or interrupted circulation of the 
blood. 

Symptoms. — There is pain in the small of the back, and 
tenderness, on pressure, over the region of the kidneys. The 
urine is small in quantity, high colored, and is sometimes mixed 
with blood. When examined, albumen is apt to be present. 
When inflammation is present, these symptoms are intensified. 
There is usually a chill at the onset, followed by fever, pain, 
nausea, or vomiting. The urine is voided drop by drop. It is 
a disease of old persons, and is due to dampness, exposure, 
rheumatism, or the irritation of gravel. It is generally confined 
to one side. 



294 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Treatment. — Medical advice should always be obtained. Active 
purging, warm hip-baths continued for some time, cupping, and the 
application of leeches over the seat of pain, are among the most 
effectual measures. The diet should be light, consisting of mild 
soups, toast, etc., and all stimulants should be avoided. 

LEAD COLIC. 

Lead or Painters' Colic is confined to those who come in contact 
with metallic lead in some form. The metal may enter the system 
through the stomach, as in drinking water impregnated with it, 
or by absorption through the lungs or skin. Laborers in shot 
factories, lead works, paint works, and those employed where 
leaden materials are manipulated, are liable to the disease. It 
may result from sleeping in newly painted rooms, or from 
using hair preparations containing lead. Most of the cases met 
with occcur in painters. 

Symptoms. — It ma}^ come on gradually or suddenly. As a rule, 
colicky pains, more or less pronounced, exist for a few days, when 
they culminate in an attack of severe and often serious colic. 
The abdomen is shrunken, the bowels constipated, the tongue 
coated, and there is great thirst ; the countenance is anxious, 
and the skin is wet and cold. The pain may be constant, but it 
is usually intermittent ; it may last only a short time, or it may 
continue with more or less severity for weeks. 

Treatment. — Liberal doses of Epsom salts are the most common 
treatment. Laxative doses of alum exercise a marked control 
over the pain, and are supposed to be specially beneficial in 
removing the poison from the system. The pain, if severe, must 
be controlled b}' the use of opiates. Pressure upon the abdomen 
will greatly modify the pain of lead colic. The action of the 
skin should be encouraged, and frequent baths will be found 
useful. After the pain has subsided, the future treatment is the 
same as for 

CHRONIC LEAD POISONING. 

This is a disease peculiar to those exposed to the influence 
of metallic lead, and it is due to the same cause as the acute form 
of the affection. 



SOKE LIPS. 295 

Symptoms. — A blue line around the gums next to the teeth is 
generally present. The muscles become painful, and those 
which extend the limbs, especially those of the wrist, are apt to 
become paralyzed. When this occurs, it is known as Wrist 
Drop. Cramps and tremors of the muscles are often symptoms, 
and occasional attacks of lead colic are to be anticipated. 

Treatment. — Workmen exposed to lead should secure good 
ventilation, wash their hands and rinse their mouths before 
eating, and take no food where lead is being manipulated. 
Small doses of Epsom salts will prove beneficial, and lemonade 
made from sulphuric acid is sometimes drank by workmen to 
prevent ill effects. A milk diet is said to prevent lead poisoning, 
a quart of which should be drank daily. Iodide of potash is 
perhaps the best remedy to rid the system of lead, and the 
following formula will be found one of the best : — 

A— 295. 

Iodide of potash, 2£ drachms 

Compound syrup of sarsaparilla, 1 ounce 

Water, 2 ounces. 

Mix. Dose — One teaspoonful, in water, three times a day. 



SORE LIPS. 

People with thin, delicate skin, are apt to suffer with sore lips 
when exposed to the sunshine and wind. Some persons are so 
afflicted almost constantly while exposed to out-of-door atmos- 
phere ; the integument of the lips failing to accustom itself to the 
elements. The lips may only be chapped and their surface be 
covered with partially detached scales, and be somewhat swollen, 
tender, and stiff; or they may become cracked and bleed, and be 
the source of much pain and discomfort, or open, irritating sores, 
may form. All of the above conditions are greatly aggravated 
by the constant licking which they receive from the tongue, as 
the inclination to do so on the part of the sufferer is almost irre- 
sistible. 

The treatment of sore lips is sometimes very unsatisfactory. 
Wearing a broad brimmed hat, and, what is better, allowing 



296 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

the moustache to grow, are measures calculated to prevent sore 
lips when due to sunburn. 

Applying protectives, such as vaseline, cold cream, perfumed oxide 
of zinc ointment, flexible collodion, or Turlington's balsam, will gen- 
erally prevent any cracking of the skin. The habit of constantly 
licking the lips with the tongue is to be carefully avoided. 

If the lips are cracked, swollen, and stiff, a good laxative will 
often prove beneficial. In addition to the above applications, it 
is sometimes necessary to protect the under lip from the sun and 
wind by applying thin court plaster. I have found the thin 
membrane on the under surface of an egg shell to be a superior 
article for this purpose. Dusting with calomel will often prove 
highly beneficial. 

Care should be taken never to use rancid salves or ointments 
about the lips. 

Fever Blisters are sometimes very annoying. They are best 
treated by keeping them dry by dusting them with fine starch, or 
powdered French chalk, or the following may be applied every few 
hours : — 

A— 296.— LOTION FOR THE LIPS. 

Carbolic acid, 10 drops 

Glycerine, 1 teaspoonful 

Oil of rose, , 2 drops. 

Mix. 

The sores sometimes occurring in the corners of the mouth are 
due to derangements of the digestion and of the salivary secre- 
tions. Mild laxatives and other correctives, and rinsing the 
mouth with a solution of bicarbonate of soda several times a day, 
will be found curative. 

It should not be forgotten that the lips have much to do with 
personal beauty. 

LIVER SPOTS. 

Liver spots or Chloasma, consist of large, irregular, brownish 
blotches, located principally on the forehead and face. Some- 
times they are so faint as to render them almost invisible, at other 
times they are deep colored, and ruinous to beauty. They are 



LOCKED JAW. 297 

much more common in women than men, and their medical 
feature belongs entirely to the female sex. 

Cause. — Although called " liver spots," the liver has but little 
or nothing to do with their development. Derangements of the 
secretions, more especially those peculiar to women, favor their 
appearance. Nervousness, an irritated condition of any internal 
organ, and internal piles, are said to produce them. 

Treatment. — As the composition of these liver spots is ex- 
actly the same as freckles, the remedies mentioned to remove 
freckles may be tried for chloasma, with equal hope of success. 

Acetic acid, or tincture of iodine or hydrochloric acid locally ap- 
plied, occasionally modifies their color. The following poisonous 
mixture, is said to be an effectual : — ■ 

A— 297.— LOTION FOR LIVER SPOTS. 

Corrosive sublimate, 4 grains 

Dilute acetic acid, 2 drachms 

Borax, 40 grains 

Rose water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. Poison. Apply to spots twice daily. 

The most important thing to be done, however, is to find out 
the cause of the spots, and remove it, and the probabilities are 
that the spots will disappear. I have seen this take place so often 
that I will repeat, find out the cause, and remove the spots, by re- 
moving the cause. Until this advice is heeded, it is useless to 
apply local remedies. 

Fluid extract dandelion in half-teaspoonful doses, three times 
a day, continued for a long time, is said to favor their removal. 

The general health should be improved, the secretions kept 
active, and exposure to the sun and wind avoided. 



LOCKED JAW-Trismus. 

Locked Jaw, or Lockjaw, in professional language is known as 
Trismus, and trismus is one variety of Tetanus, which consists of a 
permanent, painful, and irresistible spasm or contraction of the 
muscles of the body. When the spasm attacks the jaw, face, and 
throat, it constitutes lockjaw or trismus ; when it bends the body 



298 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

forward, it is called BhnprostTwtonos; when it bows the body back- 
ward, it is called Opisthotonos; when it contracts to either side, it 
is known as Pleurothotonos. Tetanus of the new-born, a somewhat 
rare disease occurring about the second week of child-life, and 
destroying life in a few days, is known as Tetanus Infantum. 

Tetanus differs from ordinary spasm, the muscular contractions 
being rigid, permanent, and irresistible. 

Lockjaw is b}' far the most common variety of tetanus, at least 
in the first stages, but the disease usually becomes quite general 
through the system in most cases. 

Cause. — Most cases of locked jaw are the results of injuries. 
Punctured, lacerated, and crushed wounds, which cause excruci- 
ating pain and suffering, are much more apt to produce it than 
less complicated injuries. A plain, clean cut very seldom gives 
rise to it. Sudden exposure to cold and dampness is to be num- 
bered among the causes of the disease. 

Symptoms. — As lockjaw generally comes unexpectedly, preceded 
by few indications, and develops rapidly, — sometimes suddenly — 
it exists as a positive fact from the very start. 

An unhealthy condition of the wound is apt to precede its 
development. There is pain in front of the ear, stiffness of the 
jaw, the forehead becomes wrinkled, the eyes stare, the nose is 
pinched, and the distorted and terrible countenance is known as 
the " sardonic grin." From the jaw and face the disease passes on. 
to the muscles of the throat, neck, back, abdomen, chest, and 
extremities. The mind remains clear, but the patient is unable 
to sleep. Breathing and swallowing become difficult, and the 
suffering becomes intense. The spasm is sometimes so great that 
the teeth are broken by the contraction of the jaw. The least 
draught of air, and noises, greatly aggravate the spasms. Death 
takes place usually in from ten to twelve days. It may take 
place in twenty-four hours, or the patient may linger several 
weeks. It is a very dangerous disease, about 80 per cent, of the 
cases following injuries proving fatal; the death rate, when 
due to other causes, is, however, very much less. 

Treatment. — As lockjaw is a violent and alarming affection, 
the instinctive inclination is to give strong medicines in large 



LOCOMOTOR ATAXY. 299 

doses, frequently repeated. A good authority states that " many 
patients perish from too strong medication and too little feeding." 
The most concentrated and nourishing food should be swallowed 
if possible, and if not, it may be administered per enema. " Quiet 
and warmth are indispensable." The patient should be placed in 
bed and kept warm, and absolute quiet should be secured; 
draughts of air and strong rays of light should be excluded. The 
bowels should be emptied by injections of warm water or oil. A 
physician should always be called at once. Tetanus antitoxin, 
when administered early, has proved to be a boon in this com- 
plaint. Indeed the disease is now treated in every way from a 
new standpoint. The instructions of the attending physicians 
should be implicitly followed. 



LOCOMOTOR ATAXY. 

This disease is located in the spinal marrow, is slow in progress, 
often lasting for many years, and the treatment is only palliative, 
as a cure cannot be expected. 

Cause. — Weakening influences, such as long continued, depress- 
ing fatigue, venereal excesses, or it may come on as a sequel of 
venereal disease, either acquired or inherited. It is a disease of 
advanced life, and is more frequent in men than in women. 

Symptoms. — It is a form of palsy which affects, not the power 
to walk, but the control of locomotion. It is a disease rather of 
sensation than of motion. Were I to give it a new name I would 
call it walking palsy, as the act of walking, in a person so afflicted, 
is a very conspicuous thing. 

The earliest indication of the disease is marked by sharp, 
piercing pains in the legs. The most characteristic feature of tho 
disease is a rickety gait and difficulty experienced in walking. 
The subject hobbles along with eyes fixed on the ground, the 
mouth open, and a cane is kept busy supporting the body, a 
constant effort being required to maintain the equilibrium. 

If a person with this disease is asked to stand or walk with 
the eyes closed, he will fall at once. The eyesight is often some- 
what impaired. The general health may remain good, the 



300 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

mental faculties remain unimpaired, and the patient live to old 
age. 

Treatment. — Rest, no doubt, is the most important thing. 
Good, liberal diet, out-of-door air, electricity, and temperate habits, will 
do more than medicines. Tonics, especially when in combination 
with strychnine and phosphorus, are given to advantage. 



LUMBAGO. 

Pains in the back and loins are of frequent occurrence, and 
when referred to the muscles they are known as lumbago. They 
usually come on suddenly, and may follow a sudden motion of 
the body, or straining, as in lifting a weight from the ground. 

Cause. — Sometimes lumbago is due to rheumatism, at other 
times to neuralgia ; occasionally it exists as a remnant of a 
sprained back. Persons who have had it once are very prone to 
future attacks, from exposure, fatigue or strain. 

Treatment. — When at all severe, the parts should be given a 
rest of several days ; and if there is fever, and constitutional dis- 
turbance prevails, a physician should be called. A good cathartic 
and a mustard foot-bath will often give relief. A capsicum or men- 
thol porous plaster applied to the parts affected will answer for mild 
cases ; chloroform liniment answers an excellent purpose ; ironing 
the back with a hot laundry iron, protecting the skin by a layer 
of cloth or paper, is very efficient ; a mustard plaster or blister is 
often advisable. A hot sitz-bath will sometimes greatly relieve the 
pain. One-half to one teaspoonful doses of fluid extract of black 
cohosh three or four times a day, are said to remarkably benefit 
some cases. 

When the affection becomes chronic, tonics, alteratives, and a 
change of occupation may be necessary. If due to rheumatism, 
neuralgia, malaria or other specific poison in the system, appro- 
priate remedies must be used before a cure can be effected. Local 
frictions, electricity, and strengthening and anodyne plasters, will be 
found useful. 



MALARIA. 301 

MALARIA. 

Malaria is a poisonous Miasm, and owes its existence to the 
presence of heat, moisture, and perhaps vegetable decomposition. 
Climate seems to greatly influence it. It usually prevails in late 
summer and early fall, in low, moist, unsettled districts. It is 
rarely found over five hundred feet above the sea level, and it 
often becomes greatly modified after civilization has cleared up 
land and established cultivation of the soil. Water absorbs 
malaria and sea water destroys it, as it is seldom found near the 
seashore. Drinking water impregnated with it no doubt often 
gives rise to bowel affections during summer. 

It enters the body through the air, and in the food and drink, 
and it is more readily absorbed early in the morning than 
during the heat of the day. An empty stomach tends to invite 
malarial poison, and those exposed to its influence should 
partake of food before venturing out in the morning. 

Malaria is the cause of a number of diseases, the chief among 
which are — 

Intermittent Fever or Ague. 

Remittent Fever. 

Typho-Malarial Fever. 

Congestive Fever or Congestive Chill. 

MALARIA AS A DISEASE-Malarial Cachexia. 

Malaria is a very common term in localities where the poison 
prevails, and applies to that condition of the system in which 
characteristic symptoms demonstrate the presence of miasm ; yet 
they are not sufficiently pronounced, or the phenomena do not 
permit of that outline necessary to place it in the catagory of 
those malarial diseases which have been given a name, and 
which have a well defined history. 

Malaria is a condition of the system. It simply means a 
system impregnated by the poison. A person cannot have any 
malarial disease without first having the malaria, but a person 
may have malaria without having any of the malarial diseases 



302 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

so named. Thousands of persons can testify to this fact. Malaria 
is a condition in which the poison enters the system, but the 
system often controls it. It ceases to be malaria when the system 
yields, and some definite malarious disease asserts itself; then 
the patient has not malaria simply, but intermittent fever, 
remittent fever, congestive fever, or typho-malarial fever, as the 
case may be. When these diseases abate and disappear, unless 
the poison is eradicated the patient still has malaria, and he may 
continue to have it in his system for an indefinite length of time. 
Some persons are very liable to it ; others can live in the most 
contaminated localities and escape it entirely. Those who have 
lived where malaria prevails and have felt its influence, can fully 
appreciate the distinction made here as to its nature. 

Symptoms. — Independent of any malarial disease, the condition 
is characterized by a long list of manifestations. The face 
is pale and sallow, the liver torpid, and the digestion poor, the 
circulation languid, the blood thin, the body weak and liable to 
yield to any disease which may prevail. Neuralgia is often the 
result of malarial taint. General debility and prolonged habitual 
headache are its frequent results. The periodic nature of 
malaria will manifest itself, no matter what disease may 
overtake a person so poisoned. If typhoid fever, it will be 
periodic in its nature ; if rheumatism or pneumonia, they will 
produce the same tendency. 

Much of the suffering resulting from dysentery, diarrhoea, 
neuralgia, headache, catarrh, dyspepsia, jaundice, and female 
complaints, is due to the poison of malaria. 

Treatment. — The generation of this poison is so related to the 
geographical and natural features of a section, that but little can 
usually be done from a sanitary standpoint. Mill-ponds, 
marshy river banks, swamps, decaying vegetation, etc., are, as a 
rule, beyond the scope of sanitary measures. Much can be done, 
however, by keeping the house and its surroundings dry and 
clean, and avoiding the night air. Medical science recognizes 
but few specifics, but, fortunately for an immense host of suf- 
ferers, Peruvian bark or cinchona as a remedy for malaria is 



MALARIA. 303 

one of them. Malaria cannot thrive where the cinchona tree 
grows. 

Quinine, its most active alkaloid, is largely used for this disease, 
and the medical profession are a unit in ascribing to it positive 
powers over the malarial poison. All of the products of the bark — 
quinine, cinchonidia, cinchonia, chinoidine, are antiperiodic in their 
effect. Formerly, quinine was so high in price that, as a matter 
of economy, the other products were much used as a substitute ; 
but as quinine is now quite low in price, the cheaper alkaloids are 
fast disappearing from practice. 

Arsenic is, perhaps, second on the list as a remedy of special 
virtue in this complaint. Taken judiciously, for some time, it 
will do much to drive the poison from the system. 

Eucalyptus is decidedly antiperoidic in its effect, and has been 
used with good results when quinine seemed to fail. Iron and 
strychnine, while they may not act directly on the poison, are so 
adapted to the treatment of the anaemia and functional derange- 
ments so common in malaria, that they form extremely valuable 
auxiliaries to the more pronounced specifics. 

Dogwood bark is said to be extremely useful in the treatment 
of malaria, but I cannot recall a single instance in which it 
has been given a fair trial. Its use is now a matter of history. 

Iodide of potash is sometimes useful, especially where there is 
scrofula, or where the disease is specially chronic. 

Hydrastis has been used with more or less success. 

To recapitulate : Quinine, Arsenic, Eucalyptus, Iron, Strychnine, 
and Iodide of Potash, are pre-eminently the remedies for malarial 
poisoning, cither acute or chronic. Any of these remedies, except 
arsenic, may be taken in medicinal doses almost indefinitely, and 
for malaria should be persisted in for a long time. 

There are on the market, and for sale in bulk in almost all drug 
stores, Aitfi-iwilaritil PUls or Anti-periodic Pills, made by different 
manufacturers, the formulas of which differ very much, but they 
are well adapted to the treatment of malaria. One of the pills most 
used for malaria in its various forms is the following, and any 
druggist can supply them ready made: — 



304 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

A— 304.— ANTI-MALARIAL PILLS. (McCaw). 

Sulphate of quinine, 1 grain 

Dried sulphate of iron, } grain 

Arsenious acid, -fa grain 

Gelsemin, \ grain 

Podophyllin, \ grain 

Oil of black pepper, T \ grain. 

One or two pills three times a day. 

Or 

The following is a preferable combination, and will be found 
very useful : — 

B— 304.— ANTI-PERIODIC PILLS. 

Sulphate of quinine, 40 grains 

Dried sulphate of iron, 10 grains 

Arsenious acid, 1 grain 

Sulphate of strychnia, £ grain. 

Mix. Make 40 pills. One pill three times a day. 

Or 

From three to six 2-grain Quinine Pills may be taken daily. 

The bowels should be kept open, the patient be well fed, and 
both the night air and morning dew should be avoided. 

A change of residence to a non-malarious section is sometimes 
the only sure remedy. Persons who are subject to rheumatism, 
pulmonary affections, or nervous disorders, should not allow their 
systems to remain impregnated with this poisonous miasm. 



AGUE. 

Ague, Intermittent Fever, The Chills, Chills and Fever, are syn- 
onymous terms. It is a disease very common in malarious locali- 
ties during the summer and autumn months. It is never found 
in some localities. 

Cause. — Ague is always the result of malaria, a miasmatic 
poison which heat and moisture produce in localities favorable to 
its propagation. 

New, uncultivated, stagnant, wet and marshy sections, are apt 
to be malarious. Mill-ponds, fresh marshes and bogs, when filled 
with decomposing vegetation, generate it in hot weather. Heat, 
moisture, and vegetable decomposition, all seem to be necessary to 
its development. Elevated sections, thickly settled portions of 
cities, and the seashore, are quite exempt from it. 



AGUE. 305 

Symptoms. — For some days before the first chill there is usually 
more or less disturbance of the digestion, attended with headache, 
constipation, loss of appetite, neuralgic, bone and muscular pains, 
and atmospheric susceptibility. These symptoms are not, how- 
ever, always present. 

The disease proper is ushered in by a sense of constriction 
about the chest and stomach, the face is pale, the lips and finger 
tips become blue, the limbs and muscles become painful and stiff, 
the feet and hands cold, the patient gapes, stretches, and desires 
to get near, very near, a fire. The body becomes cold, the head 
aches, the teeth chatter, the knees knock together, and the entire 
body gives up to a " shaking ague." The patient goes to bed and 
demands an abundance of covering, which, however, does no 
good. The skin is dry, and great thirst prevails ; the patient, if 
allowed to do so, will drink large draughts of water. 

The chill lasts from a few minutes to one or two hours ; but 
generally less than one hour. 

The coldness moderates, the shivering ceases, the face becomes 
flushed, the eyes red, the head hot and intensely painful; the 
mouth is dry, the tongue furred, the skin remains dry, the bowels 
constipated, the urine scanty and high-colored, the pulse is 
rapid and strong. The fever is high, and during this stage the 
suffering is often greater than during the chill. This condition 
lasts somewhat longer than the chill. 

As it begins to abate, the skin becomes moist, and a sense of 
comfort comes over the patient ; his headache vanishes ; perspira- 
tion becomes general and quite profuse, and ho drops into a sleep. 
When he awakes he is cool and composed. On rising and chang- 
ing the damp and somewhat offensive clothing, in a short time 
the appetite asserts itself, and food is eaten with considerable 
relish. A good night's sleep may be enjoyed, and at about the 
same hour next day the same experience will be realized. If it 
begins earlier each day it is supposed to indicate that the disease 
is increasing in force ; if it occurs later it is supposed to mean the 
reverse. The chill may be very slight, and the fever severe, or 
the chill severe and the fever mild. 

The paroxysms may occur every day {Quotidian), every other 
20 



30G DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

day (Tertian), every third day (Quartan), and there seems to be a 
natural selection of the disease toward the seventh day. If the 
chills are stopped, they are apt to reappear about the seventh day, 
unless extra precautions are taken. 

Treatment. — All medical writers agree that in Peruvian bark 
and its preparations we have a specific for the chills. While 
this is, in the main, true, yet it is no small undertaking to cure 
a case of well established chills and fever. The author knows, 
by personal experience, that the disposition of all cases of this 
affection is to " hang on" and the chills return at the least incite- 
ment. The paroxysms are easily broken or interrupted, but the 
above tendency of the complaint remains as a feature exceedingly 
difficult to completely eradicate. 

The treatment may be divided as follows : — 

1. The treatment of the paroxysm. 

2. To break the chills and prevent their return. 

3. To eradicate the poison from the system. 

Not much can be done during the chill further than to put the 
patient in bed and apply heat to the extremities, and when the 
fever comes on reverse the treatment, Cooling drinks, and quiet- 
ness, will be apt to please the patient better than anything else. 

Much has been written in regard to taking something just 
before the chill begins, to ward it off. I have seen it done with 
a dose of chloroform; but it has never been practiced to any 
extent, and is hardly practicable. 

To break the chills there is no remedy equal to quinine. From 
twelve to twenty grains should be taken daily, between the 
paroxysms, and the chances are they will at once cease. It 
should be taken in divided doses, the last dose four or five hours 
before the time for the next chill. 

The following prescription is a desirable way in which to take 
quinine for this purpose : — 



A— 306 QUININE MIXTURE. 

Sulphate of quinine, 160 |_ 

Fluid extract licorice, 1 ounce 

Simple syrup, 3 ounces. 

Mix. Shake well. Three or four teaspoonfuls daily. 



AGUE. 307 

Each teaspoonful of the above contains five grains of quinine. 
It should be taken by beginning soon after the fever has subsided, 
and repeating every five or six hours. This should be kept up 
for two or three days after the chills have ceased, and then 
gradually reduced to ten grains a day. During the fifth and 
sixth days the dose should be increased, and reduced again when 
the seventh day has passed. The above treatment will seldom 
fail to break the chills. 

After this has been accomplished, the patient still has malaria, 
and should be treated for that disease. While quinine should be 
continued, other medicines should be combined with it. Arsenic, 
Iron, Strychnine, and Eucalyptus should all be used, and a 
thorough and systematic course of treatment adopted and con- 
tinued until every vestige of malaria is driven from the system. 
A change of climate is often to be advised. 

AGUE CAKE. 

Ague cake consists of an enlargement of the spleen, an organ, the 
office of which is not definitely settled. It lies near the stomach, 
and is the seat of the sharp pain in the left side, at the lower 
edge of the ribs, when we walk or run very fast. 

Cause. — The spleen may become enlarged in typhoid and some 
other diseases, but in most instances the enlargement is due to 
malarial poison — hence the name, " ague cake." 

Symptoms. — The organ sometimes becomes enormously en- 
larged, and is, as a rule, always more or less increased in size 
during chills and fever. It may become swollen during the 
paroxysm, and contract to nearly the normal size between times, 
yet the tendency is for it to become enlarged, and remain so more 
or less permanently, as a manifestation of malarial poisoning. 
It can often be felt, and but little difficulty is experienced by the 
physician in deciding its nature. Anaemia, loss of appetite, 
debility, and all the symptoms of malaria are usually present. 

Treatment. — Quinine and other preparations of Peruvian bark 
must be largely depended upon to remove the trouble. It should 
be taken in liberal doses, and kept up for a long time. Iron, 
arsenic, and strychnine are all beneficial. 



308 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

In obstinate cases, iodide of potash should be taken. Painting 
over the parts daily with dilute tincture of iodine, or, what is 
better, rubbing the parts daily with ointment of red iodide 
of mercury (eight grains to one ounce of prepared lard) will 
hasten the cure. 

CONGESTIVE CHILL. 

Known also as Congestive Fever, Pernicious Fever, Malignant 
Intermittent, and Malignant Remittent. This disease occasionally 
occurs in malarious districts. Why one person, when poisoned 
with malaria, will have chills every day, another every other day, 
another have a continued fever, and another have a congestive 
chill, is not yet understood. Perhaps the existing differences in 
the constitutional condition of different individuals influence the 
various results. 

Cause. — Malaria. 

Symptoms. — A congestive chill may come on at any hour of the 
day or night, without any previous sign, but, as a rule, it begins 
as ordinary chills and fever, and on the third or fourth day it 
assumes the congestive type. 

The bowels are loose, blood often being discharged ; the stomach 
is irritable ; there is great restlessness, thirst, and coldness of the 
surface ; the tongue is pale and furred ; the skin livid, pale, and 
shrunken ; the pulse is weak and rapid ; the countenance anxious, 
and the breathing oppressed. Some part of the body usually 
takes the force of the disease; if it be the brain there is delirium, 
headache, or stupor; if it be the lungs, the breathing will be 
oppressed, the lips blue, and a sense of suffocation is experienced. 
The paroxysm lasts from three to many hours, and reaction is not 
always complete. The second paroxysm may come on in less 
than twenty-four hours, and is much more grave than the first in 
its results, and the third chill, if it occur, is very apt to prove fatal. 

Treatment. — A resort to statistics will show the importance 
of securing early and intelligent medical aid in this disease. 
Carefully collected results show that without treatment about 
seventy-five cases in one hundred die ; with treatment only about 
thirteen in one hundred. 



AGUE. 309 

If a member of the family is so stricken, waste no time in trying 
the virtue of any domestic remedy or patent medicine, but send 
at once for a regular practitioner of medicine, and give his efforts 
faithful co-operation. 

During the chill, reaction should be encouraged by the liberal 
use of external applications ; place hoi-water bottles, hot bricks, bags 
of hot salt or sand to the limbs and extremities. Mustard plasters 
should be placed over the stomach, the spine, and on the limbs ; 
or the extremities may be rubbed with brandy and red pepper. As 
soon as the symptoms have abated, quinine should be given before 
the time for the next paroxysm. The attending physician will 
use his judgment in regard to this matter. He may find it 
necessary to give the quinine under the skin, or introduce it 
into the rectum, or he may, perhaps, wish to combine morphia 
with it. 

In all cases where a physician cannot be procured, quinine 
should be given in ten or fifteen grain doses, so that at least thirty 
or forty grains shall be taken three or four hours before the next 
attack, remembering that, unlike ordinary ague, a congestive chill 
may come on at night, and the above named measures should be 
in constant readiness, if needed to ward off an approaching 
paroxysm. After the danger of the disease has passed, it should 
not be forgotten that the patient still has malaria, and should be 
treated for that condition. 

REMITTENT FEVER. 

Known also as Bilious Fever, Bilious Remittent Fever, and when 
severe as Typho-Malarial Fever; is similar to the chills in many 
respects. The chill is less pronounced, the fever more prolonged, 
sometimes becoming continuous, and the disease runs a much 
more definite course. 

Cause. — Malaria. 

Symptoms. — Languor, depressed spirits, headache, nausea and 
coated tongue, mark the approach of this complaint. It begins 
with a chill, lasting less than an hour, not very severe, followed 
by fever with hot, dry skin, quick pulse, flushed face, throbbing 
headache, dullness of mind, pain in the limbs, with more or less 



310 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

nausea and vomiting of bile. The bowels are constipated, the 
pulse rapid and full, the thirst greatly increased. 

Sometimes in from ten to twenty hours the fever abates, and 
the skin becomes moist, and perspiration may be quite profuse; 
the symptoms do not disappear, but are only subdued for a few 
hours, when, in about twenty-four hours from the first attack the 
paroxysm returns and there may be a slight chill followed by a 
fever as before. The period of abatement becomes less pro- 
nounced each day, until within three or four days, when the fever 
becomes continuous. The tongue is coated yellow, the stomach 
is irritable, the bowels either constipated or loose, the discharges 
clay-colored or bilious and offensive, the patient is restless and 
the mind sometimes wandering ; the skin is sallow and yellow. 
The duration of the disease can sometimes be checked during the 
first few days ; if not, it usually lasts from seven to ten days, but 
may continue for several weeks, accompanied with grave typhoid 
symptoms, such as rapid pulse, dark, dry, cracked tongue, and 
great prostration. Sometimes it is complicated by inflammation 
of the stomach, bowels, liver, brain and lungs, and death may 
result. 

The severity of this disease is extremely variable. Sometimes 
it is so slight as to scarcely require confinement in bed, while 
other cases will rival in severity the most pronounced cases of 
typhoid fever. Such is known as typho-malarial fever. 

Treatment. — This is the work of the physician, and his 
counsel should always be secured. He can often greatly modify, 
if not cut short the disease, if called early. Early treatment is of 
great importance. Before the discovery of quinine, the disease was 
quite fatal. Alexander the Great, Charles V, James I, and 
Oliver Cromwell, all died of remittent fever. Quinine has revolu- 
tionized the treatment of it, and the disease is now seldom fatal. 

The indications for treatment are, perhaps, five or ten grains 
Blue Mass, followed by a full dose citrate of magnesia or Roclielle 
salts. When the fever is high, Sweet Spirits of Nitre, or Spirits of 
Mindererus should be given, and lemonade and cold water freely 
drank. Before the above medicines are given, it must be decided 
that it is not a case of genuine typhoid fever. If the stomach is 



MARASMUS. 311 



irritable, lime water, small pieces of ice internally, mustan 

over the stomach, and hot mustard foot-baths, should be employed. 

Quinine is pre-eminently the remedy for this disease. As a 
rule, it is best not to give it at the height of the fever, but when it 
is least pronounced. As much as fifteen grains should be taken 
every twenty-four hours. If the case seems severe, it may be 
given at one dose ; but, as a rule, small doses, one or two grains 
every hour or two, are to be preferred, regulating them according to 
the amount of fever. But the above amount should be used each 
day. The quinine mixture, mentioned in the article on Ague, is a 
good way to give it. In ordinary cases, six to ten grains per day 
will suffice, and it should be continued for weeks. 

It should not be forgotten that after the fever has abated 
and convalescence is established, the patient still has malaria, 
and that a thorough course of treatment is often essential to 
complete restoration. The physician should, therefore, not be 
discharged, but the use of quinine, arsenic, iron, and strychnia 
persisted in until recovery is complete. Sometimes iodide of 
potassium will greatly assist recovery after such attacks. Elixir 
of pyrophosphate of iron quinine and strychnine, is admirably adapted 
to prolonged use, and in cases of this kind cannot fail to help. 

Repeated attacks of remittent fever are serious drains on the 
constitution, and favor the development of anaemia, dyspepsia, 
debility, and consumption ; and I am sure that in some instances 
it is good policy to forego the comforts of present associations and 
surroundings, and migrate to some locality where malaria does 
not exist. 

MARASMUS— Atrophy. 

Marasmus, in its proper sense, consists of a gradual wasting of 
the tissues. It is, perhaps, scrofulous in its nature, largely con- 
fined to young children, and inclined to a fatal termination. 

It is due primarily to an inherited condition of the system. 
Bad sanitary conditions, improper food, and lack of pure air, all 
tend to produce it. 

Children so affected are pale, weak, and sickly. The abdomen 
is swollen and hard, the appetite variable, the bowels irregular, 



312 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

the discharges unnatural and offensive. As the disease progresses 
it is attended with hectic fever, thirst, restlessness, and great 
emaciation. 

Treatment. — This belongs to the realm of hygiene and dietetics 
rather than that of medicine. The patient should be placed on 
the best possible diet. Mother's milk is, of course, the best diet 
for an infant ; a wet nurse is the best substitute, and good, healthy- 
cow's milk is the next best article. Its quality should be sub- 
mitted to the inspection of the family physician, and given as his 
judgment may dictate. If baby foods are to be resorted to, do 
not gain a knowledge of them through the medium of adver- 
tisements, but consult the physician, or some standard work on 
foods and diet. Fresh air and cleanliness will greatly aid other 
measures. 

Cod-liver oil is, perhaps, the best article in the way of medicine, 
and it may be used both internally and externally. If the bowels 
are constipated, the stools clay-colored and pasty, small doses of 
phosphate of soda will be found useful. 



MEASLES. 

Measles, Rubeola or Morbilli, is a well known contagious, eruptive 
disease, occurring in epidemics. 

Cause. — Contagion. Measles is a typical contagious disease, 
and few persons escape having it during some period of their lives. 

It usually occurs in childhood, yet some escape to have it during 
adult life, and a fewer number escape it altogether. One attack 
gives almost absolute immunity from future attacks. 

Symptoms. — The first symptoms of measles are almost exactly 
the same as those that accompany acute catarrh or coryza, 
namely, fever, watery eyes, headache, sneezing, running at the 
nose, and cough, which are all thoroughly developed, and are 
characteristic of the disease. Diarrhoea is usually present. About 
the fourth day the eruption begins to appear ; first on the face 
and neck, and thence it extends until the entire body is covered. 

The development of the eruption is attended by an increase of 
fever The rash \asts three or four days ; then begins to fade, and 



MEASLES. 313 

the fever to abate. By the ninth day of the disease, both rash 
and fever have disappeared. The rash frequently comes off in 
fine scales, and is attended with severe itching. After the fever 
abates, the patient is weak, pale, and often quite emaciated. The 
cough is often the last symptom to disappear. The eruption of 
measles consists of slightly raised red spots run together in irregu- 
larly shaped blotches, with natural colored skin between them. 

German Measles or Fire Measles, sometimes occurring in 
epidemics, seems to be a hybrid of both measles and scarlet fever. 
It resembles measles very much, but the symptoms are not so 
uniform ; the eruption is not bright-colored as in measles, and is 
grouped together in much less regular blotches. 

Sore throat is much more prominent than in genuine measles, 
and there is often hoarseness, and inability to swallow. Like 
genuine measles, it is contagious, and affects children especially. 

Treatment. — Put the patient in a well ventilated, yet moderately 
warm room, covering lightly with bed-clothes. Cooling laxative 
drinks should be given, and the patient should be kept warm and 
quiet. Boneset tea, sage tea, and other warm drinks assist in bringing 
out the eruption ; yet, as a rule, such measures are not needed. 
Syrup of Ipecac may be given to loosen the cough. If there is 
marked debility, quinine and highly nourishing food, such as bread, 
milk and eggs, are required. 

Care should be taken that pneumonia, bronchitis, or chronic 
cough do not develop as a complication or sequel to this disease. 
Measles seems to invite the development of pulmonary disease in 
those so inclined, and those who are scrofulous usually find their 
symptoms more aggravated and active after an attack. The 
family physician should not be dispensed with until recovery is 
thoroughly complete. 

A change of air — a sojourn at the seashore — and iodide of potash, 
iron, arsenic, or cod-liver oil, should be used, if the health should 
become impaired after the disease has left the system. 



314 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

TUBERCULAR MENINGITIS. 

Recent 3 T ears have brought to the notice of the people a 
peculiar disease, scrofulous in character, much more common in 
young children than in adults, and which, in most instances, ter- 
minates fatally. Tubercular meningitis consists of a scrofulous 
inflammation of the membranes of the brain. 

Cause. — An inherited tendency to the disease, a scrofulous 
taint of the system, bad hygienic conditions, improper food and 
clothing. One child may have a tendency to, and become a 
victim of the disease, and other children in the same family may 
be strong and healthy. 

Symptoms. — The disease is most frequently observed in child- 
ren between the ages of three and ten years. The first symptoms 
are those of impaired health, faulty nutrition, headache, loss of 
appetite, emaciation, nausea and vomiting, sensitiveness to the 
light, fever, delirium, and great mental irritability. The disease 
runs its course in a few days or a few weeks, and the tendency is 
to end fatally. 

Treatment. — Measures to prevent will prove much more 
efficacious than medicines to cure this disease. Pure air, 
moderate out-of-door exercise, wholesome food, suitable clothing, 
and well appointed hygienic measures of every kind, should be 
considered and made use of. 

Cod-liver oil may be used to excellent advantage in this disease, 
and should always be tried. Indeed, parents who have sickly, 
puny, or scrofulous children should not wait until some treacher- 
ous malady has fastened itself upon their offspring; but they 
should begin as soon as practicable, in infancy, to fortify the 
system against such diseases, and there is no agent better adapted 
to do this than cod-liver oil. One teaspoonful given after meals, 
and continued for a long time, will often have a most happy 
effect upon young children. If it proves distasteful to them, it 
can easily be made into an emulsion by a druggist, and rendered 
pleasant to the taste. Children, however, often acquire a relish 
for it, provided they are given an article free from rancidity. 

Syrup of iodide of iron is also a remedy of value, and may be 



MOUTH BREATHING. 315 

tried. After the disease has seated itself, it is very difficult 
to bring about a favorable result. The combined efforts of 
parents and physician should be employed to secure the best 
possible results in cases of this kind. 



MOUTH BREATHING. 

Few people realize that breathing through the mouth is a 
disease. It is a disease with a long list of symptoms. It was 
intended that we should breathe through our nostrils, and we 
cannot transgress the laws of our Maker with impunity. 

A little book has been written on this subject {Mouth Breathing, 
by Dr. Clinton Wagner, Putnam & Son, New York), which all 
who appreciate good health should read. This writer says: 
" Habitual mouth -breathing, and the long train of evils con- 
sequent thereon, have attracted my attention for many years 
past. The public seem to be wholly ignorant of the perni- 
ciousness of the practice, and physicians rarely appreciate how 
powerful a factor is the habit in the causation of numerous 
pathological conditions; and for this indifference, if I may so 
term it, they are not altogether culpable, as the literature on the 
subject is so exceedingly meagre." 

The American people are a nation of mouth-breathers, and I 
am convinced that the national physique has deteriorated thereby. 
I have carefully studied this subject, and it is astonishing how 
many are mouth-breathers, a large number of the victims having 
abandoned nose-breathing altogether. A careful observation will 
reveal the fact that a great many persons, especially among 
young people and children, do not breathe through the nostrils 
at all. 

Those who breathe through the moutli claim that they do so 
because they have nasal catarrh. They are ignorant of the fact 
that they have catarrh because they thoughtlessly formed the 
habit of mouth-breathing. 

Children begin life by breathing through their noses, and they 
should never be allowed to abandon the habit. Breathing through 
the mouth causes catarrh, sore throat, and asthma, and invites a 



316 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

whole train of constitutional disorders. The " snorer " and the 
" hawker " are both mouth -breathers. 

It is said that those who cease to breathe through the nose lose 
courage, and are frail in body, mind, and energy. They are 
fickle in business, and timid in war. The American squaw 
teaches her offspring to breathe through its nostrils, and the 
peculiar contour of the Scotch nostril makes nose-breathing easy ; 
and what two nations are more distinguished for heroic courage 
and intrepid valor, than the American Indian and the Scottish 
Highlander ? 

It is a fact, well demonstrated, that unused physical parts 
become powerless and waste away. Animals and fish which 
discard light become blind. It is a fixed law of nature that 
nothing exists in vain. The American people are ceasing to use 
their nostrils, and to the trained eye the change in the contour 
of the face, is developing a new physiognomy. Uneven and 
protruding teeth, dry mout'hs, hanging lips, partial deafness, loss 
of smell, pigeon breasts, weak throats, snuffles, asthma, and sore 
eyes, are some of the results of mouth -breathing; and these things 
are potent factors in robbing manhood and womanhood of that 
radiant countenance, which has not only given them supremacy, 
but has given to the world the grandest examples of the lovely, 
beautiful, and sublime. Oh, for an age of nostril breathing ! 



MUMPS. 

Mumps, or Parotitis, consists of a specific inflammation of one or 
both of the parotid glands. These glands are located just below 
the ear at the back part of the jaw. 

Cause. — Contact with the specific poison. The disease is 
contagious. 

Symptoms. — The glands become swollen, painful, and tender. 
As a rule there is no fever. The disease lasts about a week, and 
aside from the local discomfort there may be a mild indisposition. 

These glands swell from other causes, and unless the mumps 
are prevalent, it would be well to consider the trouble due to some 
other cause. An old-time test in the early stages of the affection 



NERVOUSNESS. 317 

is to warm a little vinegar in a cup and let the patient taste it. 
The intense pain felt if it be mumps, is a sign of the disease. 

Once in a long time, exposure to cold may cause metastasis, a 
sudden transfer of the disease from the parotid gland to the testi- 
cles, breasts, or brain. 

Treatment. — Remain indoors and use special care not to catch 
cold. Mild laxatives should be given, and the parts bathed in 
Soap Liniment, to which may be added a small quantity of lauda- 
num to relieve pain. Rubbing the parts with the grease taken 
from the jaw-bone of the hog is a popular domestic remedy in 
some localities. If the pain is severe, a flannel cloth may be 
wrung out in hot water containing a few drops of laudanum, and 
applied to the parts. 

If metastasis takes place, a physician should always be 
consulted. 

NERVOUSNESS. 

Nervousness, Neurasthenia, is only a symptom of some morbid 
condition of the nervous system. 

The amount of nerve force seems to vary in different people as 
greatly as does the amount of money they possess. Some families 
and some persons seem to have an inexhaustible supply; while 
others live very close to the margin of nervous bankruptcy, and 
the least drain made upon their nerve force leaves them all 
unstrung. 

Cause. — Nervousness indicates a morbid condition of the 
nervous system, and is often the only symptom indicative of an 
unhealthy condition. 

It is so affected by outside influences, that the internal condi- 
tions may not amount to more than the base upon which outside 
forces can operate. 

Overwork, excessive mental study or emotion, anxiety, grief, 
close confinement, malaria, constipation, neuralgia, pain, and 
affections peculiar to women. Heredity is also a common 
factor, and an intense nervous organization is very characteristic 
of some families. 

Symptoms. — Nervousness may come on gradually, or it may 



318 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

suddenly develop. It may manifest itself in a multitude of ways. 
In most instances it is associated with chronic impairment of the 
general health. When we .consider that the nerves ramify every 
portion of the body ; that the organs of sense are dependent upon 
nerve force ; that both sensation and motion, and the mechanical 
routine connected with life, are all carried on by nerve power, we 
can only expect that nerve derangements may exhibit almost any 
phenomena. Hence, we have nervous headache, nervous dys- 
pepsia, nervous skin diseases, nervous cough, nervous toothache, 
etc. Nervousness not only aggravates other diseases, but blends 
with them, from a pathological standpoint, in a remarkable 
manner. 

Treatment. — To set forth a practical plan of treatment for 
nerve jsness is difficult. It has been already stated that outside 
influences are often the strongest factors in causing derange- 
ments of the nerves, and the environment is to be first considered in 
the cure. Therefore, a change is very desirable. Again, the affec- 
tion is often due to overwork of mind or body. Therefore, 
rest is essential. The strain of business, anxiety and monotony 
of life, often produce it. Consequently, relaxation is necessary. 
Ill-health is often the real cause. Therefore, improvement of the 
general health is required. 

The four main agencies to employ, therefore, are : — 

A change in surroundings. 

Rest. 

Relaxation. 

Improvement of the general health. 

Visiting friends ; a sojourn at the seashore ; indulging in out- 
of-door amusements ; are all to be recommended. 

Rest is extremely beneficial. In opulent practice a plan is in 
vogue to put such patients to bed and keep them there for at least 
three weeks ; feed them systematically, using bathing, massage, 
passive exercise, etc. The patients are kept as free from exertion 
as though they had typhoid fever, and the return to physical 
exercise is made as gradual as that which follows a long spell of 
sickness. This cannot, as a rule, be adopted ; but a nap during 
the morning, and a rest in bed for an hour or more in the after- 



NEURALGIA. 319 

noon, an early retirement at night, and the entire abandonment 
of all that induces fatigue, are potent measures within the reach 
of almost every one. 

As a rule, a liberal amount of easily digested food is necessary. 

Electricity, massage, and calisthenics, combine pleasure and profit 
to the nervous patient. 

Medicine is of little or no value in nervousness. Perhaps I 
ought to say it is generally harmful. I do not believe in care- 
lessly swallowing " nervines." When nervousness is due to some 
existing derangement or disease, a physician should be consulted, 
and the cause removed if possible. 

Acute Nervous Attacks are best treated by rest, quiet, hot foot- 
baths, small doses of valerian, asafoztida, hop tea, camphor, or bromide 
of potash ; but even in sudden attacks, medicine should be resorted 
to as seldom as possible. No class of individuals fall victims to 
the opium, chloral, or alcohol habit, easier than those who are 
weak nerved. 

NEURALGIA. 

Neuralgia, in popular language, conveys the idea of pain 
dependent upon nervous derangement. It may attack any part 
of the body, and is often named according to the part affected. 

Neuralgia of the sciatic nerve is called Sciatica; of the face, 
Facial Neuralgia or Tic Douloureux ; of the stomach, Gastralgia, etc. 
Headache, toothache, earache, and many other painful affections 
are often the result of neuralgic tendencies. 

Cause. — Hereditary influences come first. It is oftenest seen in 
middle life, and women are more subject to it than men. 

Some one has said that neuralgia is " the nerves crying for pure 
blood." No doubt this expression applies to a very large number 
of cases. Malaria, gout, hysteria, asthma, epilepsy, syphilis, and 
dyspepsia, all produce neuralgic pains. Anaemic persons are very 
prone to it. 

The more immediate causes of the complaint are atmospheric 
changes, exposure to cold, and deranged secretions. 

Symptoms. — Pain is the only symptom of neuralgia proper, yet 
the pain and accompanying condition may bring on a variety of 



320 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

symptoms. When the affection attacks the sciatic nerve, the 
stomach, the heart, or the face, the suffering is often intense. 

Neuralgia may be so faint as to escape the attention except 
when the mind has nothing else to think of, or it may be so se- 
vere as to render life an agonizing burden. It may last but an 
instant, or it may linger a lifetime. It is most common about the 
face and head. Frequently, one side of the face or head only will 
be affected. 

Treatment. — Neuralgia is often difficult to cure. While at 
college the writer became acquainted with a gentleman who had 
spent $20,000 trying to get rid of facial neuralgia. He had been 
an intense sufferer for many years, and had been under the treat- 
ment of many of the leading physicians of the world 

When a person is suffering with an attack of neuralgia what is 
the best thing to do to relieve the pain ? 

Procure one dozen two-grain Quinine Pills — take three at once, 
and one every six hours, and bathe the parts affected with some 
good counter-irritant 

If the pain is the result of fatigue, rest and plenty of food will 
often cause it to vanish. 

A drink of hot beef tea, hot lemonade, or any hot drink, will 
prove beneficial. 

Hot applications are generally useful, but sometimes cold ones 
answer better. 

Electricity is one of the best remedies, when properly applied. 

Blisters, mustard plasters, chloroform liniment, or laudanum, are 
all calculated to benefit, especially when the pain is confined to a 
definite locality. 
Or 

Liquid Chloral- Camphor painted over the affected parts and 
allowed to dry, is very useful. 
Or 

Equal parts of Oil of Peppermint and Ether form a very effectual 
liniment. 
Or 

Sixty grains of Menthol dissolved in two ounces of alcohol 
applied over the painful area, is a popular prescription, or 



NIGHTMARE — NIGHT SWEATS. 321 

the menthol cones, for sale in every drug store, may be used 
instead. 

But Neuralgia is usually a chronic disorder and is usually ac- 
companied with impaired health, anaemia, malaria, consumption, 
or some affection requiring special treatment. 

A change of surroundings, rest, a liberal diet, and tonic medi- 
cines, are all valuable in removing the condition. There are few 
cases of neuralgia that iron and quinine will not benefit. The 
secretions should be attended to, and the free action of the skin and 
bowels encouraged. 

The habit some people have of resorting to such pernicious 
remedies as morphine and stimulants, for neuralgia, cannot be 
too strongly condemned. 

NIGHTMARE. 

Nightmare consists of a distressing sensation felt during sleep, 
attended with a sense of suffocation and inability to speak or 
move. There is always great effort made to cry out or move, but 
not until the condition begins to abate can the effort succeed. 

Cause. — Indigestion, peculiar nervous organization, heart dis- 
ease, anaemia, malaria, etc., and sleeping on the back. 

Treatment. — Remove the cause and the trouble will disappear. 
If there is constipation it should be overcome and the general 
health improved. The diet at supper should be light, and a desire 
for food before going to bed should not be indulged. Poor 
sleepers, who are feeble in health, should lie on their right side. 
This position favors repose of the internal organs, while lying on 
the back is most apt to cause unpleasant or disturbed sleep. 

Two teaspoonfuls of camphor water at bedtime are said to prevent 
nightmare. 

NIGHT SWEATS. 

Night sweats are caused by a low, debilitated state of the system, 
and most cases occur during the progress of pulmonary consump- 
tion, as an accompaniment of hectic fever. The hectic fever will 
begin in the afternoon, and with variable intensity continue until 
late in the night, to be followed by a night sweat. Sometimes 
21 



322 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

the sweating is remarkably profuse, the bed becoming saturated. 
Night sweats often occur, however, when there is no disease of 
the lungs. They are quite common where the system has been 
weakened by malaria, and where convalescence fails to follow acute 
and exhausting diseases. 

Treatment. — Overheated rooms and a superabundance of bed 
clothing often greatly aggravate night sweats, and in all cases the 
temperature of the apartments and the coverings should be closely 
watched and carefully regulated. Heavy cotton bed quilts should 
not be placed over a very weak person, as they are a burden to 
the strength of the patient. All wool blankets are far preferable. 

As the sweating is due to the weakness and debility of the 
patient, it is apparent that the most practical treatment is that 
which tends to lift the patient to a point where the strength will 
prohibit night sweats. A full supply of concentrated, easily- 
digested food, is always to be encouraged. Tonic medicines, such 
as iron, the astringent mineral acids, and quinine, should be used. 

Sponging the body at the hour of retiring, with diluted vinegar, 
is very serviceable. 
Or 

Hot vinegar, largely charged with capsicum, will be found 
effectual. 
Or 

Bathing with alum water (one teaspoonful of powdered alum to 
a pint of water), or using spirits or diluted alcohol instead of the 
water, when the expense is not to be considered. 

Internally, belladonna, or its alkaloid, atropia, is more used to 
control night sweats than any other drug. One or two doses of 
belladonna may be taken during the evening, or, what is far 
better, a hypodermic of -g 1 ^ grain of atropia at bedtime. 
Or 

Ten- or fifteen-drop doses of aromatic sulphuric acid, well diluted 
and taken through a glass tube, will serve a good purpose if it 
agrees with the stomach. 
Or 

Cold sage tea drank at bedtime. 



OBESITY — THE OPIUM HABIT. 323 

OBESITY. 

This condition, also called Corpulency since the advent of " anti- 
fat," when amounting to discomfort, is considered a case to be 
remedied by medical agents. 

Cause. — Lack of exercise, over-eating, — especially of the fat- 
orming foods — and great activity of the fat-making organs. 

Treatment. — Foods containing fat, starch, or sugar, have a 
tendency to increase fat; such articles as bread, butter, milk, 
sugar, pastry, potatoes, corn bread, fat meats, and beer, should be 
avoided by those inclined to obesity. Water is fattening, and its 
use should be restricted where it is desired to decrease the adipose 
tissue. Animal food, whole-wheat bread, and green vegetables, 
are not fattening, as a rule, and should be selected for food when 
it is desired to reduce the weight. 

A person who contemplates making an effort to reduce his 
weight by dieting, should procure a book on the subject of diet. 
" Outlines for the Management of Diet," by Dr. Edward Tunis 
Bruen, is one of the best. The Banting system, or Bantingism, 
as set forth by William Banting, consists of resorting to a diet of 
non-fat forming foods ; indeed, this is the only rational method to 
adopt. 

Medicines taken for this purpose accomplish the end by derang- 
ing the digestion and impairing the health, and should be 
avoided. " Graceful contour is too dearly bought at the expense 
of the general health, and what cannot be done by a careful 
diet, will not be undertaken with the use of medicines, by sensible 
people." 

THE OPIUM HABIT. 

More than any other slavish habit, that which heads this arti- 
cle escapes the notice of the general public. Its cause, nature, 
and treatment, are subjects but little discussed, much less under- 
stood. 

In almost every town and neighborhood there are those who 
are helpless slaves of opium in some of its forms. In some sec- 
tions the consumption of this drug is appalling. All the prepa- 



324 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

rations of opium are used in this way, the list embracing Lauda- 
num, Gum Opium, Morphine, Bateman's Drops, McMunn's 
Elixir, Paregoric, Godfrey's Cordial, and Soothing Syrup. The 
first three named are the chief dependence of the habitues of the 
drug. 

Cause. — An investigation of the causes which lead to the 
opium habit implicates not only the victim, but the druggist, the 
physician, and the people. We are all at fault, and the author 
has often thought that the one who swallows the drug is, of all 
concerned, the least responsible. 

The child that inherits a craving for narcotics, is fed during 
infancy on soothing syrups or cordials, is taught in childhood to 
use tobacco, and, perhaps, during some painful and prolonged 
illness is liberally dosed with opiates, at last finds the habit a 
second nature, and it is unkind and unfair to impose upon such 
the infliction of guilt. I have seen so many instances of this 
kind, that my pen refuses to render a harsh verdict against 
opium eaters. Perhaps nine-tenths of the victims of the opium 
habit began its use as a medicine to relieve some lingering pain. 
Physicians are not as careful as they should be in prescribing 
opiates, and druggists are often grossly unjust to both doctor and 
patient in not making known the danger of refilling prescrip- 
tions containing them ; in such cases the druggist alone is the 
responsible party. The practice of giving children cordial drops 
or soothing syrup for every little pain, until they cry for it, is 
criminal. Such a practice tends to arrest physical and intellectual 
growth, and sometimes produces a species of mental curtailment 
akin to imbecility. Writers upon the subject have often tried to 
give the impression that opium eating causes weird and fascinat- 
ing fancies, poetic visions, and golden dreams ; but my experience 
with a large number of cases has failed to reveal a single exam- 
ple of the florid romances of which we read. These fanciful 
writings have no doubt been read by persons foolish enough to 
risk the aims of their existence in order to test the delusions of 
opium drunkenness. There are few things worth living for that 
are not sacrificed — completely and hopelessly sacrificed — by the 
opium eater. 



THE OPIUM HABIT. 325 

Treatment. — In nothing will prevention prove more bene- 
ficial than when applied to the opium habit. It is infinitely 
more easy to prevent the formation of the habit than to destroy 
it when once established. People should be taught to shun the 
opium habit as they would the leprosy. 

One of the highest authorities says : " There is no remedy for 
the opium habit," and from much experience I am convinced that 
no condition is more intractable. There are many advertised cures 
and antidotes, but I am yet to find the first one worthy of 
credence. Some years ago a certain remedy was widely used as 
a " cure," and a pamphlet was circulated giving the names of a 
great number of people who, it was claimed, had been entirely 
cured of the habit by its use. On account of the standing of the 
manufacturers I was induced to try it, and after several weeks' 
trial on a score or more of opium eaters, and an outlay of several 
dollars from my own pocket, another pamphlet was placed in my 
hands, the author of which claimed to have gone to the trouble 
of investigating the truth of the first mentioned circular, and out 
of scores of testimonials from persons claiming to have been cured, 
he found that all but two had gone back to the habit, and that 
these two were doubtful. His opinion was that at no time had 
the use of the drug been suspended, although scores of testimonials 
from these hypocritical patients were flooding the country. This 
naturally raised a suspicion that my patients were deceiving me, 
and I adopted measures to find out, and to my surprise, I found 
that all but one had never ceased to use opium at all, and the 
single exception was lost sight of before I had time to satisfactorily 
investigate his case. Before the second circular was received I 
was flattering myself that I had cured a score of poor victims of 
this baneful habit, as all of them claimed to have abandoned its 
use, but the real facts disclosed my efforts as the benefactions of a 
dupe. 

Improvement of the general health, a change of suroundings, 
the absolute control and surveillance of the patient by deter- 
mined friends, and a gradual withdrawal of the drug until at 
the end of a week it is entirely abandoned, constitute a rational 



326 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

treatment. This must all be the work of attendants, as no confi- 
dence can be put in the patient's will, courage, or statements. 

Substitutes and Antidotes are to be avoided, as they are very apt 
to contain opium in some form. 

A well-regulated Home or Asylum offers the best facilities for 
treating affections of this kind, and when it can be afforded such 
a course is always to be recommended. 

OZi€NA.-See Chronic Nasal Catarrh. 



PARALYSIS. 

Paralysis, or Palsy, consists of a partial or total loss of tlie 
power of one or more of the muscles of the body. The sensation 
of the parts involved is generally more or less impaired. There 
are many varieties of the affection, according to the cause, as 
Cerebral Palsy, when due to brain disorder ; Spinal Palsy, when 
from the spinal cord ; Lead Palsy, when due to lead poisoning ; 
Hysterical Palsy, when due to hysteria, etc. It is also named 
according to the location, as Facial Palsy, Writer's Palsy, Amauro- 
sis of the optic nerve, etc. Among other varieties may be named 
Diphtheritic Palsy, resulting as a sequel of diphtheria; Wasting 
Palsy, Paralysis of the Insane, Paralysis Agitans, or Shaking Palsy, 
Infantile Paralysis, etc. Paresis is slight Paralysis. 

Cause. — Paralysis may result from many causes; the chief, 
however, refer to the brain and spinal cord. When the brain is 
the seat of the lesion, the palsy is apt to be confined to one side, 
and is known as Hemiplegia ; when the spinal cord is involved, 
all that portion of the body below the point affected is paralyzed, 
and it is known as Paraplegia. 

The formation of a blood clot or the growth of a tumor within 
the skull, softening of the brain, thickening of the membranes of 
the brain and spinal cord, pressure upon a nerve, the presence of 
lead or mercury in the system, constitutional diseases, and 
impairment of the nerve centres, are all liable to produce palsy 
in some of its forms. 



PARALYSIS. 327 

Symptoms. — A loss of motion or sensation, or both ; inability 
to speak or move. When confined entirely to the face or head, 
it indicates that the brain is involved ; when the head is exempt 
and the symptoms are all below some point in the spinal column, 
it shows that the spine is the seat of the lesion. 

Treatment. — When the palsy is due to the formation of a 
blood clot within the skull, the treatment is the same as for 
Apoplexy. A physician should always be given charge of such 
cases, as it is a great misfortune to become hopelessly paralyzed. 
When the general health is at fault, no pains should be spared in 
building up the system. The patient must be liberally fed, the 
secretions attended to, and the action of the skin favored by fric- 
tions and bathing. Both patience and perseverance are required 
in managing a case of lingering paralysis. 

Electricity, when properly applied, is often of great service, 
especially in the chronic forms of palsy. The use of the instru- 
ment should always be under the supervision of a physician or 
specialist. Strychnine and Phosphorus are generally prescribed in 
paralysis, and both are of great value in some of its forms. Iron, 
cod-liver oil, quinine, and other tonics, often serve a good purpose. 
The main dependence should, however, be placed in following 
the advice and faithfully co-operating with some competent 
physician. 

PELLAGRA 

Pellagra, Maidlsmus, Italian Leprosy, etc., has been prevalent 
in the southern states for years. 

Cause. — Bad sanitary conditions. Food from spoilt grain, 
especially corn-meal. Most prevalent in the spring, among persons 
between 20 and 40 years and especially among colored people. 

Symptoms. — Languor, debility, nausea, occasional diarrhoea, 
roughness, discoloration and exfoliation of the skin, sore mouth 
and throat, and mental decay. The disease is chronic. 

Treatment. — Correct diet, especially when prepared from 
corn-meal. Improved environment and sanitary conditions. 
Medical treatment consists of attention to symptoms as they 



328 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS. 

This affection consists of small tumors, of variable size, situated 
at the verge of the anus, or just within the bowel. 

They are named according to their location and character — 
External and Internal ; Bleeding and Dry. 

Cause. — Anything which irritates or causes a determination of 
blood to the parts may produce them. Constipation or diarrhoea, 
an attack of dysentery, sedentary habits, straining at stool, tight 
lacing, horseback riding, standing on the feet, pregnancy, the use 
of cathartics, and an inherited tendency to the disease. 

Symptoms. — The first symptom is generally a weight or sense 
of fullness with more or less pain in the rectum, which is gener- 
ally aggravated during, or following the act of stool. Backache, 
and pain down the thighs, are often present. When the disease 
is more aggravated, there is an intense burning, itching sensation, 
accompanied by throbbing. There is a disposition to linger at 
stool, the discharge not feeling complete. 

External Piles may be felt as nodules or tumors, varying in 
size from a pea to a cherry, consisting of blood which has oozed 
from the tissues. If they have existed for a long time, the con- 
tained blood becomes clotted and hard. 

Internal Piles, also known as Blind Piles, are located within 
the bowel. When they discharge blood they are called Bleeding 
Piles, otherwise they are known as Dry Piles. Internal piles 
differ somewhat in their structure from the external, but in 
point of size and number of tumors the same description will 
apply. 

The bleeding is often quite profuse, amounting at times to what 
seems to be a pint or more during a day and night, greatly weak- 
ening the patient. Or the bleeding may be a daily occurrence 
and continue on for years. Such persons are surprised to know 
what a loss of blood they can experience and escape any very 
great impairment of the general health. 

The disease is very irregular in its manifestations. A severe 
attack will cause great discomfort, lasting for a few days, more or 
less, and then the symptoms will subside, the patient almost for- 



PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS. 329 

getting he is predisposed to the complaint, when, perhaps, some 
indisposition or indiscretion will develop another attack. In 
many instances the tumors become a permanent fixture, and as 
old ones become absorbed, new ones take their j)lace and a con- 
tinual annoyance is experienced. This condition of affairs may 
go on for a lifetime, and, aside from the local trouble, excellent 
health may be enjoyed ; indeed, the theory is often advanced, and 
not without strong argument in its favor, that piles often prevent 
or hold in abeyance more serious diseases, especially of the vital 
internal organs. 

Sometimes the drain produces anaemia and great debility. 

During defecation internal piles are apt to come down and pro- 
trude, causing intense pain, bringing the sufferer into a sweat or 
perhaps to the point of fainting. The replacement must be done 
by gently manipulating the tumors with mild pressure. 

Treatment. — The treatment of piles is largely indicated by 
their location. 

External piles can often be quickly, painlessly, and effectually 
cured by a small operation by a physician, consisting of emptying 
the tumors of their contents. It is always wise to consult a 
physician in this complaint, yet I am aware that it is seldom done. 
While the above is the radical and, no doubt, the best method, 
for reasons unnecessary to mention, people usually treat them- 
selves, consequently the treatment of all varieties is usually con- 
fined to measures calculated to palliate and relieve for the present 
only. 

Much can be done by regulating the diet. A good authority has 
said that "there is nothing in the world that will produce so 
great relief in piles as fasting. If the attack is severe, live a whole 
day or even two days, if necessary, upon pure, cold, soft water 
alone." While this may not always be practicable, yet nothing 
will more surely modify the disease than conforming the diet to 
the requirements of the case. By resorting to a limited amount 
of light food, the congestion of the parts, upon which the pain and 
discomfort depend, is relieved. Animal food should be avoided 
during a severe attack. 

The bowels are best emptied by the use of warm-water injections, 



330 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

and when the parts are tender and irritable it is best to allow the 
injected fluid to remain in the bowel long enough to soften the 
hardened fecal material. 

TJie use of the syringe is indispensable in this complaint. When 
it is due to constipation, nothing can take the place of the rectal 
syringe, and the injections should be regular and abundant. 

Strong purgatives should be avoided, and laxatives only em- 
ployed. Magnesia is, as a rule, irritating to piles, and the same 
may be said of the various saline cathartics to a certain extent, in- 
cluding some of the saline mineral waters. The local treatment 
includes extreme care not to irritate by straining at stool, by lift- 
ing, or other violent exercise. 

Extreme cleanliness is imperative. The parts should be bathed 
after each stool with cold water, to which may be added a teaspoon- 
full of laudanum to the pint, followed by an application of vaseline 
or some good ointment. Marked relief will often attend the injec- 
tion of a pint of cold water at bedtime. 

Should profuse hemorrhage occur, or the bleeding be obstinate, 
it should be checked by the local application of ice or cold, and 
the injection of astringents, such as alum water, or a solution of tan- 
nic acid ; thirty grains to six ounces of cold water. If a syringe is 
not at hand, a small lump of alum may be cut of suitable shape 
and inserted into the bowel. 

The general health should receive special attention. Each 
transgression of the laws of health will be apt to cause suffering 
at the weakest spot. Tonics, alteratives, rest, and a change of occu- 
pation, are all to be considered in special cases. 

Laxatives are often necessary, the action of the liver is essential. 
If it is torpid, proper treatment should be adopted. Sulphur is 
perhaps the best laxative to soften the discharges. A teaspoonful 
stirred in molasses may be taken every morning. Confections of 
Senna, or Senna lozenges, for sale under various names in most 
drug stores, are very applicable. 

Pile ointments are all quite similar in their composition, being 
composed of anodyne and astringent ingredients, the former to 
relieve the pain, and the latter to contract the tissues. The follow- 
ing is an excellent — 



PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS. 331 

A— 331.— PILE OINTMENT. 

Powdered nut galls, 60 grains 

Powdered opium, 30 grains 

Goulard's cerate, £ ounce 

Simple ointment, | ounce. 

Mix. Apply as required. 

Or the following is equally valuable : — 

B— 331. 

Gallic acid, 20 grains 

Extract opium, 10 grains 

Extract belladonna, 10 grains 

Simple ointment, 1 ounce. 

Mix. Apply night and morning. 

Or if a more astringent ointment is needed : — 

C— 331. 

Powdered galls, 2 drachms 

Powdered opium, 30 grains 

Purified lard, 1 ounce. 

Mix. Apply as necessary. 

Or 

The Pile pipe, to be procured of any druggist, is an admirable 
contrivance for applying medicaments to internal hemorrhoids. 
Or the following is an excellent lotion : — 

D— 331. 

Fluid extract witch hazel, 1 ounce 

Pure linseed oil, 2 pint. 

Mix. Shake well and apply, or inject with a small syringe. 

Or the following is an old, but good application : — 

E— 331. 

Honey, 1 part 

Sulphur, 1 part. 

Or 

Ten or fifteen drops of balsam of copaiba in emulsion, or on 
sugar, are said, by high authority, to be curative of piles. 
Or 

Two ounces of pure linseed oil twice daily, will cure many cases, 
Or 

When piles are due to diarrhoea, or dysentery, they should be 
treated by injecting into the bowel ten or fifteen drops of laudanum 
in liquid starch. 



332 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

FISSURE. 

Fissure of the Anus is not a very uncommon affection. It 
consists of a rupture in the mucous membrane of the bowel near 
the verge of the anus. 

Cause. — Chronic and neglected piles, constipation, dysentery, 
chronic diarrhoea, straining at stool, and impaired health. 

Symptoms. — A torturing, horrible pain, especially during and 
following defecation, at which time there are violent contractions 
of the muscles of the parts. 

The bladder is often irritated, the mind greatly exercised, and 
the general health becomes impaired. The bowels are always con- 
stipated; often the result of the extreme dread which the patient 
has of meeting the calls of nature. The pain is confined to the 
very spot, and often lasts for hours following an evacuation. 
Coughing, sneezing, or sitting, excite pain. 

Treatment. — Consists of keeping the parts scrupulously clean ; 
carefully regulating the diet, employing mild laxatives, and avoiding 
violent exercise. Injections of warm water and olive oil will often 
afford great relief and favor a cure. Soothing ointments, such as 
oxide of zinc ointment, or Goidard's cerate, may be employed. 
Suppositories containing one grain of opium and ^ grain extract 
of belladonna, introduced into the bowel after each passage, will 
afford marked relief. The bowel should be washed out twice 
daily with soap and water. An operation by a good physician 
will often result in a happy cure. To cure a disorder of this kind 
always reflects to the credit of the physician. 

FISTULA. 

Fistula of the Anus consists of a false opening, extending from 
the rectum, or lower bowel, out through the skin near the natural 
opening. 

Cause. — Fistula almost always is the result of an abscess 
forming in the tissues and opening out into the bowel, and also 
through the skin. When it opens in one direction simply, it is 
called an incomplete fistula. 

Symptoms. — Very similar to those attending Jissu re, except that 



PILES OR HEMORRHOIDS. 666 

the pain is much less pronounced, or altogether absent. It 
admits the contents of the bowel, and for this reason is a more 
loathsome disease than fissure. 

It is often very insidious in its development, the patient often 
not realizing his condition. 

Treatment. — The treatment should be instituted early. Do not 
let it run for twenty-four hours, because probably in its early 
stages, and then only, does it admit of curative treatment. 

If the affection is established, and disposed to become chronic, 
radical measures should be avoided. Cleanliness, strict attention to 
diet, regulation of the bowels, and, if the general health is impaired, 
tonics should be given. "Warm clothing, and moderate exercise 
in the open air, will often bring comparative comfort. 

If there is a tendency to disease of the lungs, which is frequently 
the case, it is not, as a rule, thought best to stop the discharge 
from fistula, but simply to limit the treatment to keeping the 
parts thoroughly clean, and the general health in good condition. 
Persons often live to good old age with this affection, without 
showing any marked impairment of health. 

PROLAPSUS ANI. 

This affection consists of a portion of the lower bowel coming 
down and protruding. 

Causes. — Straining at stool, piles, diarrhoea, the use of strong 
cathartics, constipation, and relaxation of the muscles of the part. 
Children and old people are more liable to it than the middle 



Treatment. — Strict regulation of the diet, which should be plain 
and non-stimulating ; mild laxatives, such as sulphur, senna, or 
compound licorice powder, may be used to prevent constipation, but 
all drastic and irritating cathartics should be avoided. Extreme 
caution should be exercised when at stool. Voluntary carefulness 
will often secure a passage without the bowel protruding, and 
every successful effort lessens the tendency. The use of warm 
water injections will often be required to soften the discharges. 
Cold water is, however, more stimulating to the parts, and for its 
local effect should be preferred. 



334 DISEASES AND OTHER AIIMENTS. 

The parts should always be carefully replaced immediately 
after they come down. In the case of children, the fingers used 
in replacing should be dipped in olive oil, vaseline, or fresh lard, 
and extreme care taken not to irritate the bowel. 

The following should be used twice daily as an 

A— 334.— ASTRINGENT INJECTION. 

Tannin, £ ounce 

Water, 1 pint 

Two to four ounces should be injected twice daily. 

If the parts are painful, they should be bathed in cold water 
into which a few drops of laudanum are placed. All causes 
which are apt to force out the bowel, such as straining, lifting, 
and exhausting exercises, should be avoided. 



PLEURISY. 

The lungs, like most internal organs, are enveloped in a thin 
serous membrane or bag. 

Inflammation of this membrane is known as pleurisy, or 
Pleuritis. 

It is a very common affection, and attacks all ages. In rare 
cases the pleura of both sides are involved. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold and wet, or injuries, as a broken rib 
<jr wound. Pleurisy often accompanies pneumonia, consumption, 
cancer, and other contiguous affections. 

Symptoms. — Usually the first symptom is an acute pain in the 
affected side, just below the nipple, which alarms the patient. 
The pain is sharp, cutting, and stabbing; the patient breathes 
rapidly, and tries to avoid giving cause for pain. Sometimes the 
pain is in the back, and in children it may be referred to th*> 
abdomen. 

Sometimes there is a chill at the beginning, followed by fever, 
and a short, dry cough. On applying the ear to the chest a 
peculiar grating sound is heard, and later on an effusion of liquid 
into the pleural cavity takes place, which interferes with the 
breathing and causes dullness on percussion. When this liquid 
becomes loaded with pus, which sometimes is the case, hectic fever 



PLEURISY. 335 

and serious impairment of the general health are apt to take 
place. Pleurisy may become chronic, and result in a general 
breaking down of the system. 

Treatment. — The best thing to do at the very beginning of 
an attack of pleurisy is to take ten or fifteen grains of quinine, go 
to bed, and send for a physician. If a physician sees his patient 
soon enough he may be able to cut short the disease, or at least 
greatly modify its force. Bleeding is sometimes the best thing to 
be done. Wet cups, dry cups, poultices, and sometimes blisters over 
the region, are all useful. A brisk cathartic, and such medicines as 
tincture of aconite and tincture of veratrum viride, are remedies of 
great value when used properly. 

The patient should lie in the most comfortable position ; the 
temperature of the room should be kept at from 65° to 68° F. 
Nourishing, but easily-digested food, should be given ; stimulants 
are not necessary, but water may be drank freely. The patient 
should secure plenty of sleep, even if an opiate is required to 
produce it. 

If poultices are used they should be frequently renewed, and the 
fresh poultice applied immediately after the old one is lifted from 
the side, so as to avoid catching cold. What is better, perhaps, 
than poultices, consists of basting one or two layers of carded 
cotton on the inside of a thin undershirt, so that the cotton will 
be next the skin. Oiled silk should be placed outside the shirt, 
to hold the heat and moisture which come from the body. 

The pain can sometimes be greatly relieved by applying strips 
of adhesive plaster, about two inches wide, on the line of the ribs, 
and extending from the centre of the back to the breast bone. 
They should be applied tightly when the breath is expired, and 
slightly overlap each other. These strips and the cotton batting 
may be used at the same time. 

After the more active symptoms have subsided, the aim in the 
treatment is directed toward the absorption of the accumulated 
fluid in the pleural cavity. Laxatives, diuretics, and alteratives 
internally, and blisters and tincture of iodine locally, usually secure 
restoration. 



336 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

CHRONIC PLEURISY. 

When the affection has a tendency to linger indefinitely, it is 
known as chronic pleurisy. The general health becomes impaired, 
hectic fever may ensue, and the patient break down as a conse- 
quence. 

Treatment. — Great skill is required to bring about a favorable 
result in cases of chronic pleurisy. Iodide of potash, Basham's 
mixture, cod-liver oil, and tonics, are all useful at times. Counter 
irritation, such as repeated blisters and tincture of iodine to the parts, 
should be used. As a final resort, drawing the fluid off with an 
aspirator may be found necessary. 

A mistake too often made in the treatment of pleurisy is, dis- 
charging the physician too soon. His services should be retained 
until health is completely restored. He knows far better than the 
patient when his services can be dispensed with. 

PNEUMONIA— Inflammation of the Lungs. 

Inflammation of the lungs is quite a common disease. It 
stands next to consumption as a destroyer of the human race. 
One or both lungs may be involved. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold; getting wet, especially when fa- 
tigued ; sudden checking of the perspiration, inhaling irritating 
substances, and external injuries; or it may result as a sequel of 
scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, etc. 

Symptoms. — The disease is ushered in, as a rule, by a chill, or 
chilly sensations followed by hot, dry skin, flushed face, quick 
pulse, rapid breathing, pain in the chest, and cough. The expect- 
oration, at first, is a glairy mucus, then viscid and sticky, often 
streaked with blood, and finally brownish or rusty-colored. The 
rusty sputum is very characteristic of this disease. The respira- 
tion is often very rapid, running from forty to eighty times per 
minute. The flush in the cheeks is very marked ; the fever is 
high ; the urine is scanty and highly-colored ; there is thirst, 
headache, and, in serious cases, delirium. 

The condition of the lungs is ascertained by the physician, by 
means of auscultation and percussion. 



PNEUMONIA. 337 

Treatment. — A physician should always be called as soon as 
a person shows the first symptoms of pneumonia. One visit from 
him early, is worth two later on. The patient should be placed iu 
bed in a large, cheerful, well-ventilated room. Fresh air should 
be admitted, and the temperature regulated to suit the patient, 
A temperature of from sixty to seventy degrees, as a rule, is most 
desirable. The patient should avoid talking and maintain a 
horizontal position in bed. The mouth should be kept clean 
and all mouth discharges and sputum sterilized or destroyed to 
avoid contagion. 

The diet, at first, should be light, but as the disease pro- 
gresses it should be nourishing and liberal, and it is often 
necessary, when the disease assumes a typhoid type, to use 
every effort to combat heart failure, by frequent feeding with 
highly-concentrated, easily digested food. 

Liquid, or semi-fluid diet, such as milk, beef broths, and eggs, 
should be given : a small quantity at a time, but at short inter- 
vals. Poultices over the chest sometimes do good, but their use 
should be directed by the attending physician. 

An early blister over the lungs is good treatment, but it is not 
generally applied. 

Mustard plasters and turpentine stupes are sometimes applied with 
benefit. 

A layer of cotton batting applied over the chest, and covered with 
oiled silk, is very appropriate for children and the aged. 

The medical treatment of pneumonia gives the skillful physi- 
cian an opportunity to display his genius to the fullest extent : a 
sorry feature, however, is that no one can appreciate his skill 
deservedly. What I mean to say is : a skillful, careful physician 
will often cure a pneumonia patient that would sink under care- 
less attention. Bleeding was formerly resorted to in robust 
persons, but it is now abandoned. It was good treatment, but 
it is possible to employ more satisfactory measures. Aconite and 
veratrum viridi are used in place of the lancet, and the change is 
an admirable one for the first stage of the disease. Expectorants, 
or the so-called "cough medicines," are not much used now. 
Liberal doses of quinine may be given with advantage, especially 

22 



338 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

in malarious districts. During convalescence, such remedies as 
chloride of ammonia in five-grain doses, or iodide of ammonia in 
five-grain doses, three times daily, will prove very useful. 

The treatment of pneumonia must depend upon several condi- 
tions. No case requires the same medicine all the way through ; 
the previous health of the patient asserts itself throughout the 
disease ; the age of the patient also largely influences the treat- 
ment ; the part or extent of the lungs involved is also an import- 
ant consideration ; the force of the heart, and the resistance the 
system exhibits in overcoming the disease, all must be weighed by 
the physician. 

Typhoid pneumonia is a condition in which the area involved 
in the lungs is large, or where the system 3 r ields to the disease, 
and then the greatest possible supporting measures are 
required. 

To recapitulate : when the first symptoms of pneumonia occur, 
call the physician, follow his directions throughout the case, 
and have him continue treatment until convalescence is com- 
plete, and sound health thoroughly established. This book con- 
tains no better advice than the above. 

If convalescence is slow, the patient should be liberally fed, and 
tonics, such as iron, quinine, mineral acids, cod-liver oil, and strych- 
nine, will be apt to prove beneficial. A change of surroundings, 
and a trip to the seashore, or to the country, will be apt to have a 
good effect. Muriate of ammonia, ipecac, and tonics, are indicated 
if a cough lingers. 

IVY POISON. 

" Poison Ivy, " " Poison Oak," or Rhus Toxicodendron, is a 
woody vine common in all parts of America. It climbs trees, 
fences, rocks, and runs on the ground ; the leaves are long and 
smooth, and in the autumn turn to a beautiful yellow and scarlet. 
To those persons who are susceptible to its influence, contact with 
it causes a very painful and troublesome inflammatory eruption 
of the skin. Some persons are so susceptible to its influence that 
they cannot go near it without becoming poisoned, while others 
can handle it with perfect impunity. The poison is transmissible 



ivy poison. 339 

from one person to another ; as when two persons sleep together, 
one of whom is afflicted, the other will be likely to contract it. 

Symptoms. — The eruption begins with minute clusters of itch- 
ing papules, reddened by scratching. In the course of twenty- 
four hours, they become minute but deep blisters. The eruption 
lasts for several days, and the itching is continuous. The blisters 
become broken, pustules form, and the surface, which has been 
moist, becomes covered with crusts. When the poison attacks the 
face, the swelling is often very great. Its course in any one spot 
lasts about five or six days, but as new territory is apt to be 
invaded, its duration is often greatly prolonged. After contracting 
the affection once, it will reappear, in some persons, at irregular 
intervals of several months. 

Treatment. — When poison ivy has been handled accidentally, 
the hands should be immediately washed, and if any resin adheres 
to the hands it may be removed by scouring with wet dirt, which 
is often the only available article. If one part of the body is 
affected, care must be taken not to bring it in contact with other 
parts. When the hands are involved, extra precautions are nec- 
essary. A great many local remedies are used for this affection. 
All of them will cure occasionally, some of them will cure most 
cases in a short time, but none of them will cure all cases. A 
remedy will seem to kill the poison at once on one person, and 
completely fail with another. 

Dusting the parts with Bicarbonate of Soda or Borax will allay 
the itching until something better can be obtained. 

The following, applied locally, are used, and any of them will 
effect a cure in most instances : 

Fluid extract of Virginia Snakeroot applied twice a day will 
rapidly cure most cases. I have for many years combined witli 
it an equal amount of Sweet spirits of nitre, and the mixture has 
given almost universal satisfaction. The spirits of nitre alone 
is an excellent remedy. 
Or 

A -339. 

Fluid extract grindelia robusta, 1 drachm 

Water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. Apply freely. 



340 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Or 

A— 340. 

Hyposulphite of soda, 2 drachms 

Water, 1 pint. 

Mix and dissolve. Apply constantly, on cloths, to parts. 

Or 

A strong decoction of white or black oak bark will prove beneficial. 
Or 

Strong sassafras root bark tea is said to quickly cure it. 

RICKETS. 

Although symptoms indicative of this complaint are often 
noticed, by physicians, in the softer structures, the only manifest- 
ation apparent to the ordinary observer is a lack of bony devel- 
opment. The osseous development is deficient, resulting in 
deformity and crookedness of the spine and other bony structures. 
The teeth decay early, and fall out, and the general physique 
shows signs of early decay. The secretions, and the various 
functions of the body, are feebly carried on. The face is pale ; 
the skin thick and dull ; the mind inactive, the legs crooked, and 
the vitality low. 

Treatment. — Three things should be done. The child should 
be well fed ; its hygienic surroundings should receive careful atten- 
tion, and tonic and alterative medicines should be judiciously 
administered. The rickety condition must be overcome by favor- 
ing the stomach with a diet of the most nutritious, yet easily 
digested food. Such patients should be well fed in every sense. 
Bathing, out-of-door air, but not too much walking ; well-ventilated 
sleeping rooms, amusements, and woolen clothing and good shoes, 
are all to be considered in the endeavor to help such children. 

Cod-liver oil internally, and by anointing ; iron, the phosphates, 
nux vomica, and syrup of iodide of iron, will all in turn be found 
useful. 

Or, for a child one year old : — 

B— 340. 

Phosphate of soda, 2 drachms 

Water, 4 ounces. 

Mix and dissolve. A teaspoonful three times a day. 



TO REMOVE FINGER RINGS — RHEUMATISM. 341 

Or, the nursing mother may take the following : — 

Syrup lacto-phosphate of lime, 4 ounces. 

One teaspoouful after each meal. 

TO REMOVE FINGER RINGS. 

Finger rings are sometimes carelessly placed on fingers too 
large to admit of their easy removal, or they are allowed to 
remain on the fingers of children or persons increasing in flesh, 
until their removal becomes a source of difficulty. Sometimes 
the constriction causes pain and swelling. Elevating the finger 
above the head, applying cold water or ice, and lubricating with 
wet soap, will greatly facilitate removal. If this fails, take a fine 
thread and wrap the finger very tightly, commencing at its tip ; 
when the ring is reached slip the end of the thread under it, and 
oil or soap the finger, and work the ring off. 



RHEUMATISM. 

Rheumatism is a very common disease. It attacks all ages ; it 
may be either acute or chronic, and may be local or general in its 
nature. 

Cause. — It is due to a peculiar poison in the system. There is 
always an excess of lactic acid in the blood, in this disease. No 
disease is more likely to " run in families," and the hereditary 
tendencies in most cases are well marked. When a predisposition 
to it exists, exposure to cold or dampness, sudden atmospheric 
changes, or sudden checking of the perspiration, is very apt to 
bring on an attack. 

ACUTE RHEUMATISM. 

Acute or Inflammatory Rheumatism is a condition in which the 
symptoms come on rapidly, and the disease runs an active course. 

There is chilliness, followed by fever, often of a high type. The 
skin is hot, and a sour, offensive perspiration is present. It is apt 
to locate itself in the joints of the feet, the knees, elbows, wrists, 
and shoulders. The local manifestations are, swelling, pain, red- 



342 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

ness, heat, soreness, and tenderness. Sometimes the pain is very- 
slight when the parts are at rest, but extreme in motion. The 
urine is scanty and high-colored. Rheumatism is apt to travel 
around from one part to another, and when it migrates to the 
heart, it at once .becomes a serious affection. Acute rheumatism 
lasts, upon an average, about three weeks ; it may disappear in 
less than a fortnight, and it may last for many weeks, and finally 
become chronic. 

CHRONIC RHEUMATISM. 

When acute rheumatism extends beyond the acute stage, or 
when it begins in a modified form and has a tendency to continue 
with more less force, it is known as Chronic Rheumatism. In 
this form the fever is slight, or entirely wanting. The pain is not 
as constant or severe, and is apt to be worse at night. Xameness, 
stiffness, and sometimes deformity, are frequent symptoms. The 
pain is more fixed than in the acute form, and there is always 
great susceptibility to atmospheric changes. 

There are various names given to rheumatic affections as 
occurring in different parts of the body; the most important 
point to be mentioned here is to make known the fact that these 
affections are rheumatism, and should be treated as such. 

Muscular Rheumatism is the most common form of the 
disease when chronic. It is so named because the muscles are 
the parts affected. 

Articular Rheumatism is located in the joints. 

Lumbago consists of a painful rheumatic affection of the loins. 

Wry Neck is a rheumatic affection attended with deformity 
of the muscles of the neck. 

The above conditions may result when no trace of rheumatism 
exists. This fact should not be forgotten. 

Treatment. — There is a legion of remedies, but no specific for 
rheumatism. Perhaps no disease requires the careful oversight 
of a physician more than a case of acute inflammatory rheuma- 
tism. He should be called early, and should see his patient often. 
There is no one medicine or compound of medicines that will suit 
a large number of cases. A prominent professor of a medical 



RHEUMATISM. 343 

college once said that the best remedy he knew of for rheumatism 
was six weeks. Modern medical science has reduced the time one- 
half; yet it is difficult to explain how. It belongs to the realm erf 
professional practice. There are many rheumatic cures on the 
market, yet none of them can possess more than a uni-fold power. 

The patient should be placed in a well ventilated room, — not too 
warm. The clothing should be ample, but not enough to oppress 
the patient. The surface of the body should be frequently rubbed 
with a dry towel, to remove the offensive perspiration. 

During the active stage the diet should be light, but in the 
chronic form it should be nourishing. 

The best local treatment in acute rheumatism consists, perhaps, 
in freely bathing the parts with a solution of bicarbonate of soda. 

Wrapping the joints in cotton batting is usually all that need be 
done to relieve the pain. 

Painting the parts with iodine will accord with the best medical 
advice. 

The local treatment of the chronic form consists in a more 
active counter-irritation. 

The following will be found useful as a — 

A— 343. —LINIMENT. 

Tincture of aconite, 2 drachms 

Spirits of turpentine, 1 ounce 

Tincture of opium, 1 ounce 

Soap liniment, to make 6 ounces. 

Mix. Poison. Use as a liniment three times a day. 

Or 

Cod-liver oil, cocoanut oil, or olive oil, rubbed in, is said to 
benefit. 

The internal treatment of rheumatism is as difficult as it is 
important. 

Tincture of aconite is called for in high fever, and when the 
system has yielded to its influence either salicylic acid, salicin, or 
oil of wintergreen, is given in a large majority of cases. These three 
articles are very similar in their chemical composition, and their 
action is precisely the same. The only way of knowing when 
they are indicated is to give them a trial. If the patient improves, 
they are doing good ; if not, they do not suit that individual case ; 



344 DISEASES AND OTHEll AILMENTS. 

a week will decide their virtue. Salicylic Acid is perhaps the 
most potent of the three agents. It must, as a rule, be given in 
doses too large for unprofessional hands. From ten to twenty- 
grains three times a day should be prescribed. The following is 
a desirable — 

A— 344.— SALICYLIC ACID MIXTUEE. 

Salicylic acid, 2 drachms 

Bicarbonate of soda, 1 drachm 

Water, 2 ounces. 

Mix. A teaspoonful every three or four hours. 

Lemonade should be freely drank. 

The treatment of chronic rheumatism is practically in the hands 
of the sufferer. Not many physicians receive the faithful obedi- 
ence of a patient with chronic rheumatism, from its beginning 
to the time when he gets well. It is a hard disease to cure. The 
treatment is less satisfactory than that of the acute form. Salicylic 
acid should be tried, but it will perhaps fail ; more dependence 
should be put in local applications. Friction will be found very 
useful. Tonics, such as iron, quinine, cod-liver oil, and arsenic, are 
often necessary. A sojourn at the seashore will often benefit. 

The following, thoroughly rubbed into the parts twice a day, is 
highly recommended : — 

B— 344. 

Ichthyol, 1 ounce 

Lard, 2 ounces. 

This is not pleasant to use, but is very penetrating. 
Or 

Equal parts of oil of wintergreen and olive oil, mixed, and rubbed 
into the affected limbs, and covered with cotton batting, are very 
beneficial in some cases of rheumatism. The chronic form is said 
to be specially benefited by this liniment. 

Or, the following is more cleanly, and is an excellent — 

C— 344.— EHEUMATIC LINIMENT. 

Oil of wintergreen, £ ounce 

Soap liniment, \\ ounces. 

Mix. Use as a liniment. 

There are few cases of chronic rheumatism that will not in 
some way be benefited by the use of iodide of potash. 



SCIATICA. 345 

The following is a pleasant — 

A— 345.— IODIDE OF POTASH MIXTURE. 

Iodide of potash, £ ounce 

Syrup sarsaparilla comp., 4 ounces. 

Mix. A teaspoonful three times a day. 

When rheumatism is local in its character, as in lumbago, 
wry neck, or when it is confined to the fingers, local measures 
should never be neglected. 

In old chronic cases it should not be forgotten that rheumatism 
and gout are closely related, and that colchicum and other anti-gout 
medicines will often cure when other remedies fail. 



SCIATICA. 

The sciatic nerve runs from the body down through the thigh, 
and is one of the largest in the body. When it becomes the seat 
of pain the disease is known as sciatica. 

Cause. — It is hardly fair to accuse either neuralgia, rheumatism, 
or gout alone, of causing sciatica. No doubt all three occasionally 
contribute to the disease ; but it is more like a neuralgic affection 
than either of the others named. Enfeebled health, and derange- 
ment of the digestion, generally precede it, and no doubt help to 
invite its presence. As a rule it is confined to one side. 

Symptoms. — Severe pain along the course of the nerve, begin- 
ning near the hip joint and shooting down the back and the leg 
to the knee, and occasionally to the foot. The pain is intense, the 
suffering often interfering with the general health. It lasts from 
a week or two to several years. 

Treatment. — Sciatica is often an exceedingly difficult disease 
to bring under subjection. A good physician should be consulted, 
and his advice carefully followed until he has brought relief. He 
no doubt will change his medicines several times before relief is 
obtained. 

Perhaps the best remedy adapted to general use is electricity. 
Galvanic electricity is to be preferred to the Faradic. 

Hot sitz-baths are curative in many cases. They should be as 



346 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

hot as can be borne, continued for several minutes, and repeated 
twice daily. 

Strong counter-irritation is to be made use of. Blisters, mustard 
plasters, and strong liniments well rubbed in, will be found useful. 

Quinine and iron are of special benefit in most cases of sciatica. 
Arsenic, cod-liver oil, nux vomica, and the phosphates, should all be 
tried in obstinate cases. 

The following is highly recommended and can be tried by all : 
Wrap a hot smoothing iron in woolen cloths, dip it in vinegar, 
and apply to the painful parts. The operation is to be repeated 
two or three times a day. It is claimed that the hot iron and the 
acid of the vinegar constitute an electric battery. Be this as it 
may, the pain is greatly relieved by the treatment, and it often 
vanishes within twenty-four hours. 



SCROFULA. 

Scrofula, or King's Evil, is characterized by a variety of morbid 
phenomena, which owe their existence to an inherited predisposi- 
tion, to unhealthy deposits, and indolent disintegration of the 
tissues. It is always chronic in its nature. Scrofulous swellings, 
abscesses, and growths, are always of slow development, and their 
uniform tendency is to continue, and not to get well. 

Cause. — Scrofula is generally inherited, but not always. 
Whatever lessens the vital force, or the powers of life, or vitiates 
the blood or tissues of the body, is conducive to scrofula. It 
is far more common in children and young people ; indeed, 
the aged are comparatively free from it. Living in damp and 
ill-ventilated houses, unhealthful and scanty food, exposure to 
cold, filthy habits, close confinement, malaria, measles, etc., all 
favor its development. 

Symptoms. — Natural ill health, pale face, anaemia, feeble circula- 
tion, cold extremities, delicate constitution, a tendency to enlarge- 
ment of the glands, especially of the neck, armpits and groin ; 
slow suppurating abscesses and surfaces, consumption, bone 
diseases, hip disease, chronic sore eyes, running at the ears, 
chronic throat and catarrhal diseases, are in most cases either 



SCROFULA. 347 

caused or aggravated by a scrofulous taint. Scrofulous chil- 
dren are usually precocious, of light complexion, their muscles 
are flabby, their abdomen large, and their vitality feeble. 

Treatment. — The subject of clothing is important. Woolen 
underclothing should be worn during both winter and summer, 
and the feet should be well protected. Fresh air is indispensable. 
Well-ventilated houses, especially the sleeping apartments, and 
out-of-door exercise, should never be under-estimated. 

Bathing, with friction, and spending the summer at the sea- 
shore, will always prove beneficial. 

Cod-liver oil will benefit most cases of scrofula. The younger 
the patient the more efficacious will this medicine prove to be. 
In all cases it should be tried ; and in severe cases, attended with 
emaciation and weak stomach, it may be rubbed in the skin. 

Syrup of iodide of iron is extremely useful in scrofula, and 
should be given in small doses, and continued for a long time. 
Some preparation of phosphorus will often prove very beneficial. 

Syrup lactophosphate of lime, and Fellows' syrup of hypophos- 
phites, are well adapted to most all cases of enfeebled vitality. 
They are tonic, and improve the general condition. 

A pinch of phosphate of soda, three or four times a day, will 
often change the character of the secretions and improve the 
appetite. 

Iron in small doses will seldom fail to benefit. Where it agrees 
with the stomach its use should be long continued. 

Small doses of Foivler's solution of arsenic, kept up for a long 
time, with an occasional intermission, will, in a majority of cases, 
prove extremely useful. 

Tincture of iodine, diluted one-half with alcohol, is a well- 
deserved favorite local application for scrofulous swellings and 
tumors. 

The importance of cheerfulness and contentment of mind cannot 
be over-estimated. During the reign of Charles II, the " royal 
touch " thoroughly demonstrated the utility of mental forces in 
the treatment of this affection. In a single year this sovereign 
" touched " nearly 100,000 persons who were victims of scrofula, 
and, to quote the words of Wiseman, the king's surgeon at the 



348 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

time : " His Majesty cured more persons of scrofula in one year 
than all the surgeons of London in an age." 



SCURVY. 

Scurvy, Scorbutus, is a disease due to dietetic errors. Most cases 
occur at sea, but it is occasionally met with on land. 

Cause. — Errors of diet ; subsisting on salted meats to the exclu- 
sion of vegetables and fruits. The history of scurvy clearly dem- 
onstrates that man requires a variety of foods for his perfect 
development and support. 

Symptoms. — The scorbutic condition comes on gradually. The 
skin becomes yellowish and of an earthy hue — dry and rough. 
The feet and hands are cold, and there is often an eruption 
resembling flea bites. Headache, fatigue, dizziness, despondency, 
followed by spongy and bleeding gums, offensive breath, spots of 
blood under the skin, palpitation, great weakness, and a tendency 
to bleed in any part of the body. 

Treatment. — All that is necessary is to resort to a proper diet. 
Vegetables and fruits, especially of the acid varieties. Lemons, 
oranges, and lime juice, not only cure the disease, but prevent it, 
and should be added to the rations in extended sea voyages. But 
little medicine is required. Perhaps a solution of ch lorate of potash 
as a mouth wash, and some of the simple bitters, will serve a good 
purpose. 

SEA-SICKNESS. 

This is a peculiar variety of nausea and vomiting, resulting 
from the motions encountered on shipboard. It is exceedingly 
distressing for the time being, but rapidly passes off when the 
cause is removed, and we might say is soon forgotten. 

Treatment. — Sea-sickness usually fails to elicit much sym- 
pathy from friends, as it is not considered at all dangerous. 
Indeed, it often has a beneficial effect on the general health, espe- 
cially in bilious and hypochondriac subjects. Persons afflicted 
with organic disease of the heart, stomach, or lungs, or women in 
a critical condition, should, if possible, avoid sea voyages, and if 



shock. 349 

such must be undertaken, every means possible should be adopted 
to ward off sea-sickness. A horizontal position near the middle of 
the ship is always to be advised. Keeping up courage, eating 
regularly, and the use of mild laxatives, will do much to ward off 
threatening attacks. Resorting to the use of bromide of potash 
several days before a contemplated sea voyage, to benumb the 
vomiting centres, except in special cases, is impracticable. No 
specific directions can be given for this complaint. Each indi- 
vidual must adapt himself to the circumstances which surround 
him. But little, if any, dependence should be put in medicines. 
They at best will render very little benefit. Relief can some- 
times be found in remaining as quiet as possible; at other 
times stirring about in the open air will prove more beneficial. 
Ice-cold carbonated waters will sometimes allay the nausea and 
vomiting. 
Or 

One- to three-drop doses of chloroform on sugar. 
Or 

One-drop doses of creosote. 

The thirst that sometimes attends sea-sickness is best allayed by 
lemonade. 

SHOCK. 

The term " shock " has a somewhat broad meaning in popular 
language. In medicine it refers to the prostration of the powers 
of life experienced after severe injuries. The word is also used 
to express the injury to the nervoas system caused by bad news 
unexpectedly received, witnessing the falling of a building, or a 
terrific flash of lightning, etc. Those who witness a severe rail- 
road or other accident may not feel injured at the time, but sub- 
sequently they may suffer from depression of spirits, impairment 
of functional vigor, or undergo " an attack of old age, " on account 
of the shock to the nervous system received at the time. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of shock depend largely upon the 
extent and character of the exciting cause. Great prostration, 
feeble pulse, clammy skin, cold extremities, pale, wrinkled, pinched 
and shrunken features, faint breathing, and more or less loss of 



350 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

consciousness. In some cases nervous excitement is kept up, and 
restlessness and nervousness render the case more serious. 

Treatment. — A physician should always be called at once. 
The patient should be disturbed just as little as possible, and all 
handling of him should be done v/ithout bringing any part of the 
body under a strain. He should be placed in bed, on his back, 
with his head rather low. He should be kept quiet and warm. 
Avoid all exposure to cold. Do not undertake to feed or give 
stimulants to the patient until reaction sets in. The patient should 
be kept warm by the use of hot bricks, or bottles filled with hot 
water, care being taken not to burn the skin. The covering 
should be sufficient, but not heavy, blankets being preferred. 
Everything should be kept as quiet as possible, and no strong 
rays of light should be allowed to penetrate the room. After re- 
action has set in, milk and lime-water, or beef tea, may be given, 
iu small amounts at a time. 



SKIN DISEASES. 



The skin is a firm nbro-elastic membrane covering the entire 
body. Outside of the medical profession there are few who look 
upon the skin as anything else than a protection to the inner and 
more delicate parts. 

It is, however, far more than this. It is an Organ in the fullest 
sense. It is an organ of sensation, absorption, secretion, and 
excretion. 

The skin is composed of three layers : — 

1. The scarf skin, cuticle, or epidermis. 

2. The true skin, cutis, or epidermis, the most important part 
of all. 

3. The under layer of connective tissue. 

The sweat glands, the sebaceous glands, the hair follicles, the 
muscular fibre, the nerve supply, the circulation, and the coloring 



RASHES. 351 

matter of the skin, are interesting and important subjects of 
anatomy and physiology. 

To undertake to describe and give the treatment of all the dis- 
eases of the skin would fill a large volume. 

All that can be done in a work like this is to tabulate them in 
the briefest manner, and suggest general indications in the treat- 
ment of the various classes into which they may be divided. 

The skin is endowed with remarkable vitality and recuperative 
powers when its continuity is severed, as in a cut or wound ; yet 
some of the diseases of the skin are among the most difficult to 
cure. 

Notwithstanding the fact that skin diseases can be easily seen 
and diagnosed, that medicines can be applied direct, yet no class 
of affections is more obstinate, nor do any other diseases more 
frequently baffle the skill of the physician. 

Diseases of the skin admit of various divisions, but for popular 
use we have adopted what seems to be the most suitable classifi- 
cation : — 

1. Rashes. 

2. Pimples. 

3. Watery Eruptions or Vesicles. 

4. Pustules. 

5. Scales. 

6. Parasites. 



1. RASHES. 

ERYTHEMA. 

Consists of simple congestion or inflammation of the skin, 
attended with redness and more or less discomfort. 

Chapped hands, chafing, and chilblains, are fair samples of 
erythema. 

Treatment. — The simplest remedies only are called for. Keep- 
ing the parts dry and protected from irritation is often all that is 
necessary Vaseline, cold cream, camphor, ice, or any of the sooth- 
ing and cooling articles found in every drug store, are useful in 
most cases of this sort 



352 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

The diet should be light, and a saline cathartic, such as a 
seidlitz powder, citrate of magnesia, or a few doses of cream of 
tartar, will hasten a cure. 

The following will be found a useful — 

A— 352.— POWDER FOR CHAFING. 

Lycopodium, 1 ounce 

Oxide of ziuc, 1 ounce 

Carbolic acid, ... 10 grains. 

Mix thoroughly. Dust on the parts after being washed and well dried. 

NETTLE RASH, OR URTICARIA. 

This affection is generally the result of some internal irritation, 
and often follows indulgence in shell fish. A sudden change of 
atmosphere will sometimes induce it. 

As a rule, its existence is very transient, yet it may last for 
days, or even become chronic. 

Treatment. — The internal use of cooling laxatives, such as 
cream of tartar, Epsom or Rochelle salts. 

Applied locally, diluted vinegar, alcohol diluted with six parts of 
water, or extract of witch hazel, will prove beneficial. A solution of 
baking soda will often afford marked relief. Salt water is very 
useful. Oxide of zinc ointment is often prescribed. 

ROSEOLA. 

Roseola consists of rose-colored spots upon the skin, usually 
attended with some fever and redness of the throat. It may 
cause a suspicion of scarlet fever or measles, but it has no rela- 
tion whatever to either. It is not contagious. 

The treatment is the same as for nettle rash. 



2. PIMPLES OR PAPULAR SKIN DISEASES. 

This class of diseases is characterized by the presence of 
pimples or papules, which consist of small elevations or points 
which contain no liquid. 

LICHEN. 

Lichen, of which Prickly Heat is a familiar form, develops in 
small-sized papules which are most common on the face and 



WATERY ERUPTIONS OR VESICULAR DISEASES. 353 

neck. Mild, cooling laxatives, and local applications, such as 
starch powder, are all that is necessary in the simpler forms of 
lichen. 

Lichen of various forms sometimes exists as a chronic affection, 
and only yields to careful and prolonged treatment. Sometimes 
a skin disease will begin as a vesicular affection, and pass on 
into other and more serious forms. Ordinary lichen, when 
neglected, or treated in an improper manner, may become vesic- 
ular, and scab, and be very obstinate. Constitutional conditions 
of the system may be the cause of it. 

RED GUM. 

Red gum, or tooth rash, occurring in young children, consists of 
a number of small papules or pimples on the gums, about the size 
of a pin's head. It is generally caused by teething, or some 
derangement of the digestion, accompanied by intestinal irrita- 
tion. The health is but little affected by the disease, only 
occasionally being attended by slight feverishness. 

The treatment is very simple. Avoid draughts of cold air, but 
do not keep the child over-warm. A mild laxative may be given. 
If the gums are red and swollen, and the source of much distress, 
a physician should be called. 



3. WATERY ERUPTIONS OR VESICULAR DISEASES. 

This class of skin affections is characterized by elevations upon 
the surface of the skin, containing clear, watery fluid. 

ECZEMA. 

Eczema, which occurs in various forms, consists of minute 
vesicles collected together in irregular patches. The vesicles 
frequently run together, and secrete a fluid, or they " weep," as it 
is sometimes expressed. 

Salt Rheum, Scald Head, Tetter, and Milk Crust, are dif- 
ferent forms of eczema. It may attack almost any part of the 
body, and occur at any age. It is extremely variable in its mani- 
festations, and the various conditions under which it occurs seem 

23 



354 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

to regulate its action. It may be acute, and be of short duration ; 
or it may be chronic and obstinate, baffling the skill of the most 
expert specialist. 

Treatment. — Those subject to eczema, or, those who have it in 
their families, should not undertake to treat it themselves, nor 
waste time and money on patent medicines, but at once secure 
the best possible medical aid. The physician should be con- 
sulted frequently, and his directions carefully and faithfully 
followed. 

All kinds of salted meats, greasy food, fried dishes, pastries, 
cheese, and all indigestible food, should be avoided. Fresh air, out- 
of-door exercise, and woolen underclothing, are to be recommended. 
A liberal use of warm water and Castile soap is indispensable. 
Oxide of zinc ointment is one of the best applications. Tar oint- 
ment has been used with success. The various Mercurial oint- 
ments, in certain cases, prove beneficial. 



MILK CRUST. 

Milk Crust, Orusta Lactea, is a very distressing and disfiguring 
disease of childhood. It attacks the face and head, and is very 
obstinate. The itching induces the child to scratch, and the 
irritation and disfigurement become extreme. 

Crusts form, and when they are torn loose the appearance 
sometimes becomes distressing. Although the disfigurement is 
great during the progress of the affection, recovery is complete. 
No scar remains, and the hair will grow again. 

Treatment. — Don't irritate. Keep the parts clean. Tar soap is 
perhaps the best kind to use. The general health should be 
attended to. Mild, cooling laxatives are sometimes required. 
Soothing applications only are to be employed locally. 

The following may be used as a — 



A— 354.— LOTION. 

Borax, 10 grains 

Glycerine, 2 drachms 

Rose water, 2 ounces. 

Mix. Apply three or four times daily. 



WATERY ERUPTIONS OR VESICULAR DISEASES. 355 



SCALD HEAD. 

Scald Head, Tinea Capitis, is a contagious, eruptive disease of 
the scalp. It usually attacks children between one and twelve 
years of age. The disease begins with points or pustules which 
run together and break, forming scabs and discharging a thick, 
viscid, offensive fluid. 

Treatment. — Keep the scalp clean. This is best done by spong- 
ing with warm water and soap, the use of olive oil, and, in some 
cases, by the application of poultices. The hair should be cut short. 

Tar Ointment, Creosote Ointment, Sulphur Ointment, Strong Acetic 
Acid, and Lime Water, are all useful local applications. 

The secretions should be carefully regulated. Mild laxatives, 
tonics, and alteratives are all more or less useful. Internally, 
Cod-Liver Oil, Iron, and, in many cases, Iodide of Potassium, are 
prescribed with benefit. 

When the disease is of long standing, and the skin dry and 
harsh, there is no internal remedy so effectual as Folder's Solution 
of Arsenic. It should be taken in as large doses as the system 
will bear, and be continued for a long time. 



Herpes is an acute non-contagious disease. The eruption differs 
from eczema in that the vesicles are larger. It lasts from a few 
days to three weeks, and is attended with more or less burning 
and discomfort. 

Fever Blisters and Ringworms are varieties of Herpes. 

SHINGLES. 

Shingles, or Herpes Zoster, is characterized by a vesicular 
eruption about the waist, attended with burning, itching, and 
neuralgic pains. 

Treatment. — Some cases require confinement in bed. Mild 
laxatives, and the application of dusting powders, oxide of zinc 
ointment, powdered bismuth,, lycopodium, or powdered red cinchona 
bark, may be used with advantage. Carbolated cosmoline will 
tend to allay itching. 



356 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

If there exists a tendency to the disease, as is the case with 
some persons, tonics, such as iron, quinine, arsenic, and cod-liver 
oil, should be given. 

Fever Blisters are best treated by the application of oxide of 
zinc ointment, powdered French chalk, or calomel. 

TETTER. 

Tetter appears in a variety of forms. It is characterized by an 
outbreak of small vesicles appearing in small clusters on an 
inflamed surface, surrounded with healthy skin. 

The vesicles increase in size, and their contents become dry, 
form into scabs, and scale off. There is more or less burning, 
itching, and smarting. 

Another common form of tetter appears in patches about the 
neck, face, and on the hands and wrists. The surface is apt to 
become rough, cracked, and abraded. An acrid fluid is dis- 
charged, which dries into bran-like scales. The disease is chronic 
in its nature, and often difficult to cure. Some persons have a 
marked predisposition to this affection. Errors of diet, especially 
the use of fat, rich food, tend to produce it in those so inclined. 

Treatment. — The diet should be strictly regulated. All rich, 
stimulating food should be avoided. The parts affected should 
be frequently bathed with Castile soap and warm water. If the 
general health is impaired, proper remedies, such as tonics, iron, 
cod-liver oil, and arsenic, will prove beneficial. 

The following will be found useful in chronic tetter : — 

A— 356. 

Tar, 30 grains 

Oxide of zinc, 30 grains 

Cold cream, 1 ounce. 

Mix. Apply two or three times a day. 



4. PUSTULES, OR PUSTULAR SKIN DISEASES. 

This class of skin affections is characterized by circumscribed 
elevations of skin containing pus. 

Acne, Impetigo, and Ecthyma, belong to this class, although they 
do not exactly conform to the strict definition. 



SCALES, SQUAMA, SCALY SKIN DISEASES. 357 

Acne may appear in the form of papules, tubercles, pustules or 
abscesses. It may be acute or chronic. It is most common on 
the face, neck, back, and chest. Next to eczema it is the most 
common form of skin disease. 

Impetigo consists of distinct, isolated pustules, seated upon an 
inflamed base. It is somewhat rare, and most common in ill-fed 
children. It may result from a variety of causes. 

Ecthyma is characterized by prominent, large pustules, ending 
in thick, dark scabs. It occurs most often in debilitated persons 
who are ill-fed, unclean, and overworked. 

Treatment. — Diet is of first importance. The general health 
should always be improved. Mild laxatives are almost always 
needed. If there is hereditary taint of rheumatism in the patient, 
more than likely it is the exciting cause of the affection, and will 
require specific medicine, such as colchicum. A scrofulous taint 
indicates tonic and alterative treatment. Locally, light poultices 
may be required. The parts must be kept clean by washing with 
Castile soap and warm water. Oxide of zinc ointment is a good 
application. Lead water will often prove beneficial. If the 
general health is impaired, arsenic, syrup of hypophosphites, or the 
preparations of iron, will be required. The family physician 
should always be consulted in all these obstinate skin diseases. 



5. SCALES, SQUAMA, SCALY SKIN DISEASES. 

This class of skin diseases is characterized by the formation of 
small, whitish scales, under which there is more or less unhealthy 
activity of the skin. Dandruff, treated of elsewhere, is a typical 
scaly, skin disease. 

Lepra, Psoriasis, and Ichthyosis are the chief scaly skin 
affections, but the first and last named are not common. 

Psoriasis or Dry Tetter is most common about the knees, 
elbows, face and scalp. Small white scales form on a somewhat 
reddened surface. There is but little itching. It is of a chronic 
nature and is apt to resist ordinary treatment. 

Treatment. — Diet, exercise, bathing, and the use of those meas- 
ures which stimulate the secretions of the liver, kidneys, and 



358 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

bowels, are all to be made use of. Fowler's Solution of Arsenic is 
perhaps the most useful internal remedy that can be employed. 
As it must be given in full doses, to be of benefit, a physician 
should be consulted. The affected parts should be frequently 
bathed with Tar, Carbolic or Naphthol Soap, and softened by 
the free application of Cod-Liver Oil. Tar Ointment, Carbolated 
Cosmoline, Oil of Cade and Turpentine, are all prescribed for this 
complaint. 



6. PARASITES OR PARASITIC SKIN DISEASES. 

The diseases of this class result from the presence of living 
organisms, either animal or vegetable, upon or within the sub- 
stance of the skin. 

ITCH. 

Itch or Scabies is due to the existence of a small insect called 
Ascarus Scabiei. It burrows under the skin and produces an 
eruption accompanied by intense itching. It is a contagious disease. 
The previous general health of those attacked largely regulates 
its severity in individual cases. 

The most selective points with these insects are between the 
fingers, between the toes, and on the buttocks and abdomen. The 
female insect does all the mischief, the male innocently remaining 
upon the surface of the skin. 

Treatment. — The parts should be well soaked, and washed with 
soap and water, followed by a thorough rubbing with a coarse 
towel. Sulphur, locally applied, is a specific for the itch; and after 
the above rubbing is completed, Sulphur Ointment should be freely 
applied, rubbed in, and allowed to remain on the skin. The 
process should be repeated for four or five consecutive nights. 

BARBER'S ITCH. 

Barber's Itch, or Tinea Sycosis, is a vegetable parasitic affec- 
tion of the bearded portion of the face and neck, and is confined to 
man. It is contagious. The eruption consists of irregular clusters 
of inflamed vesicles, tubercles, or pustules. When pustules form, 



PARASITES OR PARASITIC SKIN DISEASES. 359 

each one has a hair in its centre. More or less matter oozes out, 
and offensive crusts form, causing matting of the hair. 

Treatment. — The disease may yield to the most simple treat- 
ment, or it may continue for several months, no matter what 
measures are employed. 

The parts should be kept thoroughly clean. It is best to pull 
out the hairs surrounded by pustules. Washing with a solution 
of Hyposulphite of Soda (two ounces to the pint), is useful. Car- 
bolated Cosmoline is a good application, or the following — 

A— 359.— LOTION. 

Boracic acid, „ 2 drachms 

Sulphuric ether, 2£ ounces 

Alcohol, to make 10 ounces. 

Mix. Apply three or four times daily. 

As the disease is contagious, the use of razors, strops, brushes, 
and cups and towels of affected persons, should be scrupulously 
avoided. 

RING-WORM. 

Ring- Worm, Tinea Circtnata, is a somewhat contagious, 
vegetable, parasitic affection, characterized by round or oval, 
reddish, scaly patches on the skin, most frequent on the face, neck, 
and the backs of the hands. This form of ring-worm differs from 
others in location more than in anything else. It may or may 
not itch. When located in the neighborhood of the thighs it 
often proves very obstinate to treatment. 

Treatment. — This consists of applying such agents as will 
destroy the parasites to which the affection owes its existence. 
Either of the following medicines may be rubbed up with one 
ounce of benzoated lard in the strength named, and applied two 
or three times a day: Carbolic Acid, 20 grains; Oleate of Copper, 
30 grains ; Bichloride of Mercury, 2 grains ; Oil of Cade, 1 drachm ; 
Salicylic Acid, 40 grains ; Thymol, 20 grains. Strong Acetic Acid, 
Vinegar or Tincture of Iodine, will often effect a cure. The appli- 
cation of Tar Ointment answers in most cases. The lotion 
mentioned under Barber's Itch will prove equally beneficial in 
Ring-Worm. 



360 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

SMALLPOX. 

Smallpox, or Variola, is a highly contagious, loathsome, and 
often fatal disease. Before the discovery of vaccination, smallpox 
was one of the most common of diseases. It traveled as an 
epidemic over the earth, and, like a carnage of death, carried with 
it terror and destruction; leaving behind broken hearts and 
scarred faces. A writer on the subject has said that if a modern 
traveler could find himself transported to the streets of London 
as they appeared a century ago, the most striking feature of the 
thronging populace would be the enormous number of pock- 
marked faces he would meet. Although vaccination has been 
subjected to much criticism, it remains as one of the most 
brilliant achievements of medical science, and is one of the 
greatest blessings to mankind. 

Cause. — Smallpox is contagious. No disease is more to be 
avoided. No doubt the influence of vaccination has been, not 
only to prevent individual susceptibility, but to lessen the sus- 
ceptibility of the race. Negroes are much more likely to contract 
the disease than the white race, due, perhaps, to the fact that their 
race has not fortified itself by vaccination. 

Smallpox attacks all ages, and even the unborn. It prevails 
most in cold weather. 

Symptoms. — From eight to fifteen da}'s or longer after exposure, 
the patient is attacked with a chill, or creeping chilty sensations, 
followed by high fever, rapid pulse, loss of appetite, coated tongue, 
nausea, vomiting and thirst. The most characteristic symptom 
at this stage, however, is the pain in the small of the back 
and head. This pain is generally intense. About the third day 
the eruption begins to appear, first on the face, then on the neck 
and body, and finally on the extremities. With the appearance 
of the eruption the symptoms subside. The eruption first appears 
as small points, at the top of which vesicles are soon seen. These 
vesicles soon become milky, then yellowish, and about the fifth or 
sixth day they become well developed pustules. The face is 
swollen, painful, and the discomfort is great. 

The secondary fever begins about the eighth day, its intensity 



SMALLPOX. 361 

corresponding to the extent of the eruption. As the pustules 
begin to dry, matter oozes from their edges, and the odor of the 
patient at this time is offensive, and very characteristic of the 
disease. 

About the fourteenth day, the crusts begin to fall off, leaving 
the skin of a red color which gradually fades, leaving here and 
there scars which will remain during life. 

Confluent smallpox is a condition in which the pustules exist in 
great numbers, and run together. In this form of the disease 
large surfaces of the face or body become solid masses of confluent 
pustules; a condition which adds greatly to the severity and 
gravity of the disease. Such cases are apt to be attended with 
delirium, stupor, hemorrhage, and complications involving the 
lungs, kidneys, and other important organs. 

Varioloid is smallpox modified by vaccination. The early 
symptoms somewhat resemble those of genuine smallpox, but in 
a greatly modified form. The secondary fever and later symp- 
toms are, however, largely wanting, and convalescence is rapid. 
It should not be forgotten that varioloid is almost as contagious 
as smallpox, and its treatment should involve equal sanitary 
measures. 

Treatment. — The treatment of smallpox concerns those out- 
side of the sick room almost as vitally as it does the patient 
himself. The patient should be rigidly isolated, and placed in a 
large, well-ventilated, cool, but dark room. There should be no 
carpet on the floor, and as little furniture as possible. The dis- 
charges from the patient should be disinfected with copperas, 
carbolic acid, common salt, or bichloride of mercury. The scabs 
should be carefully collected and burned ; all clothing and bed- 
clothing thoroughly disinfected, or, what is better, destroyed, and 
the room fumigated with sulphur. 

During the disease the patient should be well fed with milk, 
milk toast, oysters, eggs, and beef tea. Lemonade and cold water 
may be freely given with impunity. The medical treatment 
should always be in the hands of some physician. The indica- 
tions are to relieve the fever by the use of sweet spirits of nitre, or 
spirits of mindererus, and frequent cold sponging. Tonics, such as 



362 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

quinine and tincture of iron, are largely prescribed by the profes- 
sion, to maintain the strength. 

One of the most important trusts of the attendant is to prevent 
pitting of the face. The following are fairly successful : — 

Keeping the face covered with flexible collodion; 
Or 

Opening each pustule ; 
Or 

Freely painting each pustule with tincture of iodine ; 
Or 

Perhaps the best of all is a cool, dark room, as all remedies some- 
times fail. 

SPASMS. 

A spasm consists of an irregular jerking and contraction of the 
muscles, sometimes attended with severe pain. It may occur in 
the bowels, stomach, heart, or muscular system. The term 
spasm is usually applied to the milder forms of convulsions; 
while the more severe or specific form of convulsions is known as 
epilepsy or fits. They are the most common with children. 

Cause. — They indicate a disturbance of the nervous system, and 
are generally due to a predisposition acted upon by some exciting 
cause, such as indigestion, worms, nervousness, hysteria, excite- 
ment, or bodily disease. They are much more common in chil- 
dren, before the mental faculties dominate, than with older per- 
sons. Teething is a common cause with children. 

Treatment. — The best treatment of spasm when occurring in 
a child is a warm bath, with a little mustard in it. If this cannot 
be adopted, a mustard plaster, not too strong, should be applied to 
the legs and over the stomach, and a cold water cloth on the 
head. The bowels should be emptied by an injection of warm 
water and salt. If the stomach is sour and the abdomen swollen, 
a few grains of bicarbonate of soda should be given. As soon as 
the spasm has subsided an effort should be made to remove the 
cause. If it is from teething, the gums should be lanced ; if from 
worms, appropriate remedies administered ; if from deranged 
secretions or indigestion, these things should be remedied. 



SPRAINS. 363 

When a child is predisposed to spasms, great care should be 
taken, in order to escape all exciting causes. Small doses of 
Elixir of Bromide of Potash, dose, one-half to one teaspoonful for 
a child from three to four years old, are often prescribed as an 
antispasmodic. 

Spasms of the stomach and bowels are best overcome by coun- 
ter-irritation to the skin, and the internal use of warm anodyne 
and carminative drinks. Essence of Jamaica ginger, pepper tea, 
hot drops, paregoric, and, in severe cases, small doses of laudanum, 
may be necessary. 

SPRAINS. 

A sprain may be very slight, or it may involve important 
muscles or tendons, and prove a serious infliction. A bad sprain 
is as much to be dreaded as a broken bone. The wrist, ankle, 
and back, are the parts of the body most frequently sprained. 

Cause. — Anything which places the tissues under excessive 
tension, or, what is more often the case, the application of force 
while a muscle or joint is in an awkward or unnatural position. 

Treatment. — Pre-eminently the remedy for a sprain is rest of 
the parts. If there is pain, swelling, and heat of the parts, ice 
cold water, or lead water and laudanum, should be applied. Some- 
times immersing the parts in hot water will bring great relief; salt 
may be advantageously added to the water. If the seat of a 
sprain becomes livid or blood-colored, and pain and swelling 
follow, a physician should always be consulted. If a delicate 
child sprains the hip-joint, there is always danger of hip disease, 
and such an accident should receive special attention. It must 
not be forgotten that sprains are often accompanied by fracture 
and displacement of the bones, and surgical appliances are often 
required. 

After the swelling has somewhat subsided, the parts should be 
daily bathed in warm water, and gently rubbed with some good 
stimulating liniment. Nearly all cases of sprain are benefited by 
bandagi/ng, as practiced by many physicians. 

Finally, the parts should be exercised by passive motion, and 
gradually brought into use. 



364 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

When a sprain becomes old and obstinate, and the parts are 
weak and painful when used, frictions, passive motion, the 
application of liniments, and, perhaps, of the bandage, is to be 
continued. Fish-brine is an excellent application to old and 
lingering sprains, and, when used, it should be frequently and 
thoroughly rubbed into the tissues. 



OLD SORES AND ULCERS. 

When a sore or ulcer remains open for a long time it becomes 
indolent, the edges become thickened and unhealthy, and it loses 
the disposition to heal. Sores of this kind may result as a sequel 
to injuries, or they may be due to a diseased bone, or occur in 
consequence of a lack of vitality of the parts. 

Sore Leg is a typical chronic ulcer. It is most common in old 
persons, and occurs generally on the inner side of the leg, just 
above the ankle-joint. As a rule it is not very painful, but is 
extremely difficult to cure. 

Treatment. — This requires the skill of a physician, and he is 
often baffled in the efforts to cure. The general health must be 
improved, and if there be any taint or poison in the system, it 
must be eradicated before a cure can be expected. Pure air, good 
food, and tonic and alterative medicines, are all necessary. The 
local treatment consists of keeping the parts clean and protected, 
and applying such remedies as are likely to promote healthy 
granulations and excite the healing process. Open surfaces heal 
from the edges, and in most cases the edges of old sores become 
thickened and unhealthy, and prevent the growth of the healthy 
skin in the direction of the ulcer. Physicians often divide this 
edge in several places in order to set up a more healthy action. 
Poulticing is sometimes advantageous ; when the parts are offen- 
sive, charcoal, either sprinkled on, or in the form of poultices, 
answers an excellent purpose. Slightly stimulating washes, such 
as a weak solution of sulphate of zinc or blue vitriol, alcohol and 
water, or extract of witch hazel, are often beneficial. Basilicon oint- 
ment, red precipitate ointment, and other alterative applications 
often effect a cure. Keeping the parts at rest, and bandaged, will 



STRANGURY — ST. VITUS'S DANCE. 365 

sometimes set up the healing process. When ulcers are irritable 
or painful, anodyne dressings are often necessary. 



STRANGURY-Retention of Urine. 

This is a very serious complication. 

Cause. — Stricture, the presence of stone, the irritation of Spanish 
flies when a large blister is applied, the use of turpentine, diseases 
of the bladder, paralysis, low diseases, etc. When a person is 
very low with sickness of any kind, and ceases to pass the usual 
amount of urine, the attention of the physician should always be 
called to the fact. 

Treatment. — When it is the result of a blister, overdoses of 
cantharides or turpentine, flaxseed or elm bark tea should be freely 
drank, or the following should be introduced into the bowel with 
a syringe, as an injection. 

A— 365. 

Starch water, 1 ounce 

Laudanum, 30 drops. 

If the first injection does not relieve, it may be repeated in 
half an hour. 
Or 

A warm hip-bath prolonged for half an hour. When a large 
blister is to be applied the camphorated blistering plaster should 
always be secured, as there is but little danger of strangury when 
it is employed. 

ST. VITUS'S DANCE. 

This peculiar nervous affection, known as Chorea, is more com- 
mon in children than in adults, more especially girls from six to 
eighteen years of age. It derives its name from the fact that 
during an epidemic of a similar disease which occurred in the 
fifteenth century in Zabern, those afflicted were taken by force to 
St. Vitus's chapel, where masses and other religious ceremonies 
were held in order to effect a cure. It manifests itself by a great 
variety of symptoms that are hard to classify systematically. 



366 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

" It is expressed by a peculiar disorderly and nearly constant re- 
currence of muscular contractions of an involuntary character, 
which are not (except in hysterical cases), at all rhythmical." 

Cause. — No specific cause seems to exist. Strong mental 
emotions, as fright, fear, close application to study, the use of 
tobacco, the presence of worms, or it may develop as a sequel of 
scarlet fever, measles, whooping-cough, and malaria. Hereditary 
influences are frequently very apparent, and it bears a close re- 
lation to gout, rheumatism, epilepsy, and consumption. 

Symptoms. — Derangements of the digestion, loss of appetite, 
constipation, flatulence, and impaired nutrition generally precede 
a long list of mental symptoms, such as melancholy, absent- 
mindedness, and peevishness. These symptoms are followed by 
irregular, spasmodic twitches of the muscles of the face or ex- 
tremities. These motions may be of almost any conceivable sort, 
twitchings of the mouth, eyes, face, neck, shoulders, arms, or legs. 
These jerking movements are kept up in an irregular way 
throughout the waking hours, and occasionally during the hours 
of sleep. The child suffers in temper and in disposition, and in 
long continued cases the intellect undergoes impairment. Re- 
covery is gradual, but it takes place in most instances, after an 
indefinite period, ranging from a few weeks to several years. 

Treatment. — Anything calculated to improve the general 
health will seldom fail to benefit. Quiet surroundings are of 
great importance. Parental discipline should itself be disciplined 
by common sense and good judgment. Baths followed by brisk 
friction, plenty of fresh air, and wholesome foods, such as milk, 
cream, and fats, should all be made use of. A trip to the seashore 
or mountains will often quickly cure such cases. In severe 
attacks the patient should be put to bed, and kept there. Some- 
times a few hours in bed each day are to be recommended, when 
constant confinement there may be impracticable. 

A great many medicines are recommended for this complaint, 
but arsenic is the remedy par excellence. Fowler's solution should 
be given in all cases, with rare exceptions, and its administration 
carefully advised and watched by the attending physician. 
Arsenic is a very powerful and poisonous drug, and the physician's 



SUNSTROKE. 367 

directions should be strictly followed; should disturbance of the 
bowels or puffiness of the eyes ensue, it should be withdrawn 
until he is again consulted. Under the careful and faithful use 
of arsenic (although its first effects are, perhaps, to rather aggra- 
vate the case), a large proportion of cases will recover. 

Cimicifuga, or black cohosh, is perhaps the second best remedy. 
From fifteen to thirty drops of the fluid extract diluted with water 
should be given three times a day to a child ten years of age. If 
iron in some form is given simultaneously with it, the benefit 
seems to be much more evident. Iron, cod-liver oil, strychnia, and 
galvanism, are all potent remedies, and should be resorted to when 
arsenic and cimicifuga fail. To improve the general health after 
convalescence has begun, elixir pyrophosphate of iron, quinine and 
strychnia, is an appropriate preparation. 



SUNSTROKE. 

Sunstroke, or Heatstroke, consists of a shock produced by the 
exposure of the body or the head to intense heat, or to the direct 
rays of the sun on a hot day. 

It is a fact worthy of note that much more heat can be borne 
while the body is in motion than while standing still. To sit or 
lie in the sun is more dangerous than to walk about. Most of the 
cases of sunstroke occur in the large cities, its occurrence being 
quite rare in rural sections. 

Symptoms. — Headache, disturbed vision, intolerance of light, 
and a sense of prostration, generally indicate the approach of 
more serious collapse. 

In the milder form the face becomes pale, the pulse rapid, and 
the patient weak and prostrated. 

In the more severe type the face is flushed, the head hot, the 
breathing heavy, and the patient becomes unconscious. 

Treatment. — The patient should be removed to a cool, shady 
place, at once. 

If the face is flushed, the head hot, the pulse full, the breathing 
heavy, and the patient unconscious, the head and shoulders 



3b8 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

should be elevated, and ice water, or the coldest water that can be 
procured, should be freely applied to the head. 

If the face is pale, the head no warmer than the other parts of 
the body, the pulse weak, and the patient faint, the head should 
not be elevated, and cold water should be sprinkled over the 
whole body. 

If the feet are cold, large mustard plasters and hot water bottles 
should be applied to the legs. Stimulants are often necessary to 
support the patient. Absolute rest, quiet, and a cool place, are 
essential. A physician should always be immediately called, as 
sunstroke is a very serious trouble ; one-half the cases proving 
fatal. 

Sun-fever is a mild form of sunstroke, the patient being 
slightly overcome by heat. The treatment consists of seeking a 
cool place, wetting the head with cold water, and keeping quiet 
until the normal condition is regained. 



SWALLOWING PINS, COINS, ETC. 

When children or other persons swallow pins, coins, buttons, or 
such substances as are liable to penetrate or injure the substance 
of the stomach and bowels, do not get alarmed or excited. Do 
not give an emetic or cathartic, or medicine of any kind. Feed 
liberally with bread, potatoes, and other bulky vegetable food, 
and keep it up until the substance passes through the bowels. By 
so doing the food envelops the substance and conveys it along ; 
thus protecting the living tissues. 



EXCESSIVE SWEATING. 

The sweating or perspiration of parts of the body, especially 
of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, sometimes 
becomes so profuse as to be a source of annoyance and discomfort. 
The sweating of the palms may become so profuse that it will 
accumulate in the hollow of the hand until it runs over the 
edges. It is impossible to keep the parts dry under such con- 



EXCESSIVE SWEATING. 369 

ditions, and when the disease attacks the feet, the discomfort 
is greatly increased by the tendency to foul odor. 

Cause. — The cause is unknown. " It affects the cleanly and 
the dirty, the sickly and the healthy alike, and is met with in 
persons of all ages and both sexes." Disorders of the nervous 
system and circulation, debility, and malaria, may give rise to it. 
Excitement of any kind, either mental or physical, increases the 
flow of sweat. 

Treatment. — Internal remedies, unless they are intended to 
relieve some condition upon which the sweating depends, are not, 
as a rule, to be used. If debility or malaria be present, appro- 
priate remedies should be given. Iron, quinine, nux vomica, and 
the astringent mineral acids, will answer a good purpose in most 
cases. The general directions given under " Night Sweats " and 
" Fetid Feet " apply to this subject. Bathing the parts with water 
is not to be frequently done, but sponging lightly with water as 
hot as can be borne will be of service. They should be wiped dry, 
and dusted with the following powder : — 

A— 369. 

Salicylic acid, \ drachm 

Talcum, 1 drachm 

Powdered starch, 2 ounces. 

Mix. Apply as required. 

The powder should be removed as soon as it becomes moist or 
caked. 

Various articles may in turn be used as dusting powders, 
among which the following may be mentioned : Powdered starch, 
lycopodium, oxide of zinc, magnesia, talcum, and oleate of zinc. 
Either of the above articles will be improved if about twenty 
grains of salicylic acid be thoroughly mixed with each ounce of 
the powder selected. Alcohol, either pure, or diluted one-half 
with water; bay rum, cologne water, alum or sulphate of zinc water 
(sixty grains to the pint), will be found of great service. 

Perhaps the most effectual application is tincture of belladonna 
diluted one-half with alcohol and lightly applied with a camel's 
hair pencil. As belladonna is a very poisonous drug, some care 
must be taken in its use. 

24 



370 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Diluted ammonia water, vinegar, or a solution of chloral ("sixty 
grains to the pint), will be found useful. 



THE TEETH. 



THE CARE OF THE TEETH. 

The care of the teeth is receiving constantly increasing atten- 
tion, not only from a cosmetic and hygienic standpoint, but their 
treatment, when diseased, forms at present an important branch 
of remedial science. 

The practical and educated dentist is no longer an experiment, 
or luxury for the opulent, but his mission has become one of 
universal application and utility. The scope of his usefulness is 
as general, and the duties of his profession are as closely allied to 
the health, comfort, and happiness of the public, as that of the 
practitioner of medicine. 

The first, or temporary teeth, begin to appear about the seventh 
month of child life, and the entire number — which is twenty — 
are, as a rule, developed before the end of the third year. About 
the seventh year these teeth, usually more or less decayed, begin 
to be crowded out by the growth of the second or permanent 
teeth. The second set — thirty-two in number — are not all cut 
until about the eighteenth or twentieth year, when the appear- 
ance of the "wisdom teeth" completes the number. Their 
appearance, growth, and development, are by no means uniform. 
Children are sometimes born with teeth, and in others their 
growth is noticeably backward. Of the thirty-two teeth in the 
adult, there are sixteen to each jaw; these consist of four incisors, 
two canine, four bicuspid, and six molars. They are hard and 
compact in substance, and the exposed portion is covered with a 
vitreous or glass-like material, called the enamel. In the central 
portion of each tooth there is a pulp supplied with nerve filaments. 
Their chemical composition is as follows : — 



THE CARE OF THE TEETH. 371 

THE TOOTH SUBSTANCE. THE ENAMEL. 

Organic matter, 28.01 . . . 

Phosphate and fluoride of calcium, . . . . 66.72 89.82 

Carbonate of calcium, 3.36 4.37 

Phosphate of magnesium, 1.18 1.34 

Other salts, 73 .88 

Cartilage, 00 3.39 

Fat, 00 .20 

Total, 100.00 100.00 

It will be seen by the above that the teeth are very different 
from other organized tissues. This is an important fact, because 
such knowledge points out clearly the treatment required to pre- 
vent the tendency to decay. 

As a proof that the teeth are engaged in vital activity and 
circulation, we have but to notice the change in color which they 
undergo in bodily ailments ; turning yellow in liver disorders, 
and pale in consumption, and also the change manifest when 
their nutrition is cut off or interfered with. 

The functions of the teeth are various, the three principal being, 
to masticate the food, to assist in articulate speech, and to add 
beauty, symmetry, and dignity to the face. 

The teeth were made to use. On no organ of the body is " ready 
for business " more plainly intimated than on the devouring yet 
benign expression of a good set of teeth. It is absolutely essen- 
tial to the development, perfection, and beauty of our teeth, that 
we use them. It should be remembered, however, that there is a 
wide difference between use and abuse. Not only is their use 
necessary for their own sake, but the health, happiness, and 
physical well-being of mankind are largely dependent upon the 
proper use of the teeth. 

The American people may be guilty of numerous and grave 
derelictions of privilege, but they are guilty of none which bring- 
more discomfort, ill health, and premature old age, than the fail- 
ing to properly and thoroughly masticate the food. A medical 
writer who illustrates the philosopher, says, "There is not one 
case of sickness in a hundred that may not be traced to impru- 
dence in eating or drinking." If he embraces chewing the food 
in the "imprudence," we heartily agree with him. Humanity 
has posed for years as a martyr to the frying-pan, the baker, the 



372 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

confectioner, and the modern cook. The theorist is lamenting 
the uncomely outlines and decrepit tendencies of our national 
physique. The medical charlatan pretends by a long course of 
profound research to have found within the human body the 
vital realm where disease germs lurk, and with similar powers 
has discovered in nature the healing principle, which, with par- 
donable humaneness, he bottles up and sends forth on sale. But 
it is not the fault of the frying-pan or the cook, the unkind trend 
of human existence, or dependent upon some occult mysteries 
which only one man can explain, that we do not enjoy better 
health. It is because we do not chew our food. Gladstone, it is said, 
chews each mouthful of food twenty-two times, and of all his 
noble traits he will leave few indeed more worthy of imitation. 
No matter how thoroughly the caterer understands his business, 
or how palatable or wholesome his productions, food must be 
chewed. Bread may be never so sweet, it will yet need masticat- 
ing ; beefsteak that " melts in the mouth " does so as a result of 
chewing, and most of that sold in our markets requires a Glad- 
stonian effort to thoroughly accomplish the " melting " process. 

The office which the teeth fill in articulating words, is important, 
in the extreme. Even well-formed teeth not only give force and 
distinctness, but grace and elegance, to the human voice. Those 
who speak and sing should not forget the importance of preserv- 
ing the integrity of the teeth. 

The beauty of the expression, the magnetism of radiant manhood 
and womanhood, and the force and vigor of character, so closely 
related to the powers and achievements of human greatness, are 
not only assisted but ornamented by clean, healthy teeth. 



DECAYED TEETH. 

Decayed teeth are a condition as universal as it is unfortunate. 
But few people arrive at the zenith of life without their teeth show- 
ing signs of decay ; and when the teeth are unable to perform the 
function of mastication, they lead to an early decline in physical 
vigor. 

Cause. — Why the teeth decay has never become a settled ques- 



DECAYED TEETH. 373 

tion in the public mind. Personal opinions or public speculations 
have not evolved a reason fortunate enough to secure popular 
sanction. 

Faulty nutrition, dependent upon inherited weakness; food 
lacking in phosphatic qualities; the use of acid or corroding 
medicines ; eating hot food and drinking hot tea and coffee ; ill 
health ; and the use of tobacco, are all more or less advanced as 
teeth-decaying forces. 

These influences, no doubt, all more or less favor decay of teeth, 
yet none of these things, nor all of them combined, add greatly 
to the difficulty. It is fortunate, from a practical standpoint, that 
none of these are prominent factors, because none of them 
will ever be overcome, or to any great extent avoided. 

To my mind, teeth decay because they are not kept clean. Un- 
cleanliness is pre-eminently the one great cause of decayed teeth. 

Treatment. — The treatment of decayed teeth and dirty teeth, 
therefore, only needs dividing to meet the exigencies of the case — 
one is the work of the dentist, and the other the duty of the 
individual. 

In this volume we have advised everybody to employ a 
regular family physician ; and for the same reasons, and with 
no less force, we recommend every family to employ a family 
dentist. By this we do not mean, simply to have one to go to 
when we think we ought to have a tooth extracted, or a number 
of decayed ones filled ; but we mean that he should be a per- 
manent employee of the family. He should not only be given 
our confidence and support, but he should be given the oversight 
and responsibility of the condition of our teeth. I am con- 
vinced that this is wholesome advice. By such a course, we 
and our families become a walking advertisement of the dentist's 
mechanical skill, his professional judgment, and also of his busi- 
ness methods: We will retain a mouth of healthy teeth; if 
decayed, they will be filled early, thereby the bills will be smaller 
than otherwise, and we will secure every advantage of the 
dentist's skill, genius, and competitive rivalry. This counsel is 
important, yet details are prohibited in this article. When we, 
as a transient customer, consult a dentist, we simply secure his 



374 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

services ; if to pull a tooth, it is extracted ; if to clean them for 
some special occasion, it is done, no doubt at the expense of the 
enamel : if to fill a cavity, the future is not anticipated. If we 
go to our dentist for these things, his attitude in the case is one 
of personal concern ; his reputation, his skill, his pride, and his 
success, are all at stake whenever we open our mouths. 

Don't go to a doctor to have a tooth extracted, but go to your 
dentist. The tooth may not need extracting. Even if you have 
exhausted the vocabulary of toothache drops, a regular dentist 
may see at a glance that the pain is due to some physical defect 
of the tooth, which may be easily remedied. The chances are 
that the physician will extract the tooth and ask no questions. 
Many physicians enjoy pulling teeth ; there is something fasci- 
nating about it. Don't be afraid of your dentist; consult him 
often, and have him examine the teeth of the whole household 
once in three months, or at least twice a year. Co-operate with 
him. Faithfully carry out such directions as he may propose. 
Dentistry is, perhaps, the most advanced and the most useful of 
mechanical arts, and none has reached greater perfection. This 
volume would fail in being loyal to the art of preventing and 
curing disease if the writer failed to urge the importance of these 
remarks. 

The lodgment and accumulations of material from the food or 
secretions are often difficult to prevent or to remove. The contour 
of the mouth, unevenness and irregularity of the teeth, impaired 
secretion of saliva, all tend to promote such accumulations. No 
matter how careful some people are, the accumulations will some- 
times be found ; while it matters not how careless others may be, 
the secretions are of such a solvent nature that the mouth is 
always clean and sweet. 

When these accumulations, from the moisture and heat of the 
mouth, set up a ferment, there is formed an acid which acts on 
the enamel of the teeth, and when the smooth surface is once 
roughened, the surface is more inviting to accumulations, and the 
corroding is more rapid, while the process carried on by the 
generated acid burrows into the central portion of the tooth, 



DECAYED TEETH. 375 

interfering with its nutrition, and, finally, causing partial or 
complete death of its organized tissues. 

The micro-organism theory has been applied to the accumula- 
tions which form around teeth and cause their decay, yet the 
above principle is not changed. If these microbes do exist, their 
ultimate disintegration results in the formation of a corroding 
acid, the action of which is identical with the resulting fermenta- 
tion alluded to above. The removal and prevention of these 
accumulations, therefore, are of prime importance in the preser- 
vation of the teeth. A good authority states that " A clean tooth 
will not decay in a hundred years." If this be true, and we have 
no reason to doubt it, there is not much to be done except to 
keep the teeth clean. 

Some years ago the Dental Society of Philadelphia offered a 
prize for the best essay on this subject, the same to be published 
for the benefit of the public. The prize was awarded for the 
following rules. 

First. — Cleanse your teeth once, or oftener, every day. Rinse 
the mouth after eating. Cleansing the teeth consists in removing 
every particle of foreign matter from around the teeth and gums. 

Second. — To cleanse, use well-made brushes, soft quill or wood 
tooth-picks, an antacid, styptic tooth wash, and precipitated chalk. 
If these means fail, apply to a regular dentist. 

Third. — Avoid eating hot food. Thoroughly masticate the food, 
and well salivate it before swallowing. 

Fourth. — Parents ought carefully to attend to the child's second 
dentition. Prevail upon your children to visit at frequent inter- 
vals a careful and skilled operator. 

Fifth. — Remember that four of the permanent double teeth 
come at the age of six years. They are very liable to decay early, 
are very large, and should never be allowed to require extracting. 

Sixth. — Never allow any one to extract a tooth unless abso- 
lutely necessary, or to dissuade you from having them filled. 

Seventh. — Carelessness and procrastination are responsible for 
a large proportion that are lost. The teeth were never intended 
to take the place of nut-crackers, nor to rival scissors in cutting 
thread. The teeth must be taken care of, or the health will suffer. 



376 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Tartar, which sometimes accumulates on the teeth, should be 
removed by the dentist. When of long standing, none but he 
can remove it without injury to the teeth. If the teeth are well 
brushed with pure vinegar and water every morning, if tartar is 
only beginning to form it will soon disappear. When cleaning 
and brushing the teeth, special care should be used to thoroughly 
reach every part of the upper front teeth and the lower back 
ones, as foreign material is apt to accumulate in these regions. 
The under front teeth, near the gums, should receive special 
attention. Tartar and accumulations in this region are always 
conspicuous. 

Perhaps the best two articles for a tooth wash are common salt 
and pure white Castile soap. The Castile soap should be used in 
the morning, and the salt at night. To wash the mouth requires 
a tumbler of warm water, a brush, and soap ; the mouth should 
first be filled with water, and the teeth then briskly and 
thoroughly rubbed with the brush, which should previously 
be rubbed on the cake of soap. After using the brush, the mouth 
is to be well rinsed with warm water. Special attention should 
be paid to reaching the spaces between the teeth, where particles 
of food are apt to find a lodgment. At night the teeth and gums 
should be washed and brushed with a solution made by adding 
a teaspoonful of common salt to a tumbler of warm water. This 
mixture should be used every night at bedtime. Salt cleans the 
teeth, hardens the gums, and sweetens the breath, and is an 
excellent local alterative to the mucous membrane of the mouth, 
throat, and nose. 

A word might be written in favor of felt and rubber tooth- 
brushes. They have been on the market for years, but have not 
met with an extended sale. In some cases of tender gums the 
felt brush may be preferable to bristles. 

TOOTH POWDERS AND MOUTH WASHES. 

There are a great many substances used in tooth powders, some 
of them harmless and that answer an excellent purpose, while 
others are injurious and should not be used. No injurious in- 
gredient should ever be put into a tooth powder. 



TOOTH POWDERS AND MOUTH WASHES. 377 

The following substances are harmless, and may be used either 
alone or in combination : — 

Pure white Castile soap, Bicarbonate of soda, 

Pure willow charcoal, Powdered Peruvian bark, 

Pure English precipitated chalk, Quinine, 

Carbonate of magnesia, Common salt, 

Powdered myrrh, Powdered orris root. 
Borax, 

Charcoal is a powerful absorbent, and is a valuable addition to 
dentifrice where the breath or taste is offensive. Powdered myrrh, 
Peruvian bark, and quinine, are tonic and antiseptic, and are 
specially useful when the gums are spongy or disposed to bleed. 
Borax is mildly detergent. Orris root gives a pleasant flavor to 
tooth powder, but is almost neutral in effect. 

Soap, soda, chalk, and magnesia, are all alkaline, detergent, 
and well adapted to cleansing and polishing the teeth. 

The following substances, although they enhance the whiten- 
ing qualities of tooth powders, are injurious, and should not be 
used : — 

Camphor, Common prepared chalk, 

Powdered cuttle fish, Whiting, 

Alum, Cream of tartar, 

Ashes, All acids. 
Powdered pumice stone, 

Camphor, I know, is a popular ingredient in tooth prepara- 
tions, and it is one of the best " whiteners " we have, but it makes 
the teeth brittle, it is deleterious, and its good effects are only 
transient. Cuttle fish and pumice stone, no matter how finely 
powdered, destroy the enamel. Common chalk and whiting are 
inelegant substances. Alum and cream of tartar are very 
destructive to the enamel of the teeth, and should never be 
used. When alum is used in gargles for the throat, care should 
be taken to rinse the teeth afterward. 

The following tooth powders will be found not only useful but 
harmless, and any of them can be used with impunity : — 

A— 377.— TOOTH POWDER NO. 1. 

English precipitated chalk, 1 ounce 

Powdered white Castile soap, 1 drachm 

Powdered orris root, h drachm 

Powdered sugar, 1 drachm 

Oil of wintergreen, 12 drops. 

Mix thoroughly. 



378 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

I have used and sold the above powder for years, and it has 
given universal satisfaction. 

A— 378.— TOOTH POWDER NO. 2. 

Precipitated chalk, \ ounce 

Powdered Castile soap, \ ounce 

Powdered orris root, \ ounce. 

Mix. Flavor with wintergreen, lemon, or rose water. 

The above is a very excellent cleansing powder. 

B— 378.— TOOTH POWDER NO. 3. 

Finely powdered Peruvian bark, \ ounce 

Finely powdered myrrh, \ ounce 

Finely powdered charcoal, \ ounce 

Finely powdered orris root, \ ounce 

Precipitated chalk, \ ounce. 

Mix. 

The above is specially useful where the teeth are decayed, the 
gums inflamed, and the breath offensive. 

C— 378.— TOOTH POWDER NO. 4. 

Carbolic acid, 15 minims 

Powdered orris root, 2 drachms 

Precipitated chalk, 2 drachms 

Powdered soap, 2 drachms 

Oil of cloves, 5 drops. 

Mix. 

D— 378. -QUININE TOOTH POWDER NO. 5. 

Precipitated chalk, 1 ounce 

Starch powder, \ ounce 

Powdered orris root, \ ounce 

Sulphate of quinine, 5 grains. 

Mix. 

E— 378.— BORAX AND MYRRH POWDER, NO. 6. 

Precipitated chalk 1 ounce 

Powdered borax, \ ounce 

Powdered myrrh, \ ounce 

Powdered orris, \ ounce. 

Mix. 

F- 378.— TOOTH PASTE. 

Honey, \ ounce 

Precipitated chalk, \ ounce 

Pulverized orris, h ounce 

Carmine, 8 grains 

Oil cloves, 2 drops 

Oil nutmeg, 2 drops 

Oil rose, 2 drops. 

Simple syrup sufficient to form a paste. 



TOOTH POWDERS AND MOUTH WASHES. 379 

A— 379.— LIQUID DENTIFRICES. 

Star anise, 1 drachm 

Soap bark, 3 drachms 

Cloves, 15 grains. 

Cinnamon, 15 grains 

Oil of peppermint, 3 drops 

Cudbear, 8 grains 

Dilute alcohol, 4 ounces. 

Coarsely powder, macerate for several days, add the essential oil, and 
filter. 

The above is said to make a pleasant, foaming wash for the 
teeth, mouth, and gums. 

B— 379.— WASH FOR SORE GUMS AFTER EXTRACTION OF TEETH. 

Chlorate of potash, 2 drachms 

Tincture krameria, 2 ounce 

Glycerine, £ ounce 

Rose water, 2 ounces 

Water sufficient to make J pint. 

Use six or eight times daily as a mouth wash. 



Distilled Extract of Witch Hazel, as sold by druggists, is an 
excellent wash for the mouth after the extraction of teeth. 

C— 379.— ANTISEPTIC AND DISINFECTANT MOUTH WASH. 

Salicylic acid, 2 drachms 

Borax, 3 drachms 

Glycerine, 2 ounces 

Distilled water sufficient to make 4 ounces. 

One or two teaspoonfuls to a glass of water, and use as mouth wash. 

D— 379— FOR LOOSENING OF THE TEETH AND SPONGY GUMS. 

Tannic acid, 30 graius 

Iodide of potash, 6 grains 

Tincture of iodine, 30 drops 

Tincture of myrrh, 5 ounce 

Rose water, 3 ounces. 

Dissolve the tannic acid and iodide of potash in the rose water, add 
the tinctures, and strain. A teaspoonful in a wine-glass of warm 
water as a mouth-wash every morning. 



380 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 



THROAT DISEASES. 



Throat diseases, both acute and chronic, have become extremely 
common in this country. Indeed, some disease of the throat, or 
at least a tendency thereto, seems to be the fortune, either in- 
herited or acquired, of most people. Why the throat should 
become a weak spot as civilization advances is an unsettled 
question. Bad ventilation, debilitating excesses, and breathing 
the dry air of furnace-heated rooms, no doubt promote the 
tendency. 

Diseases of the throat may be Acute or Chronic. They include 
Laryngitis, Pharyngitis, Tonsilitis, Quinsy, Hoarseness, Loss 
of Voice, Clergyman's Sore Throat, Diphtheria, Diphtheritic 
Sore Throat, Ulcerated Sore Throat, and Elongated Uvula. 

In the treatment of throat diseases it should always be the first 
aim to treat the cause, if it can be ascertained. Disordered 
stomach, a scrofulous taint, an elongated uvula, decayed teeth, 
or breathing irritating substances, are occasional sources of sore 
throat. If it is due to deranged liver and stomach or constipa- 
tion, how absurd it is to eat lozenges, which increase the difficulty 
of which the irritated throat is only a symptom. 

The wearing of heavy neck-cloths, woolen scarfs, bundling up 
of the head, and stuffing the ears with cotton should not be 
practiced except in exceptional instances. Good, warm, woolen 
clothing, and substantial, thick-soled shoes, should always be worn 
by those predisposed to throat troubles. Bathing the feet in cold 
water every night is a good preventive. Bathing, followed by brisk 
friction, is exceedingly beneficial, and prevents taking cold. 



SORE THROAT— Acute Pharyngitis. 

Soreness of the throat is a very common affection. In popular 
language it embraces Laryngitis, Tonsilitis, Hoarseness, Loss of Voice, 
Elongated Uvula, Posterior Nasal Catarrh, and all diseases of an 



SORE THROAT. 381 

inflammatory nature in the region of the throat. We have 
followed a rational plan in this book, and have given each of the 
above disorders separate consideration. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold and dampness, atmospheric changes, 
getting the feet wet, and swallowing corrosive substances, or 
breathing foul air. 

Symptoms. — Mild attacks give rise to no constitutional symp- 
toms, the local manifestations being soreness, redness, swelling, 
painful swallowing, dryness of the throat, and more or less 
huskiness or thickness of the voice. More severe cases are ushered 
in with a chill, or chilliness followed by a fever, pains in the limbs, 
headache, swelling, redness and soreness of the throat, embracing 
the tonsils, pharynx, and surrounding parts ; swallowing is pain- 
ful and difficult, sometimes almost impossible, the swelling is so 
great. The breathing is interfered with, the voice is changed, and 
in some instances almost lost, the expectoration is thick and 
yellowish, and in the course of two or three days a troublesome, 
harassing cough sets in. The swollen surface of the throat is 
covered with small white patches. 

The disease lasts for a few days and abates, and the throat is left 
somewhat congested and tender, and more than ever subject to 
subsequent attacks. 

Treatment. — A sore throat can often be cut short if proper 
remedies are early applied. 

A hot foot-bath is always in order, also copious draughts of hot 
lemonade or boneset tea. If there is torpidity of the liver, one or 
two compound cathartic pills at bedtime will be useful. Where there 
is debility or fatigue, a full dose of quinine, ten or fifteen grains, 
is always to be advised. A teaspoonful of paregoric at bedtime, 
or five grains of Dover's powder, will have a tendency to cut short 
an attack, or greatly modify its severity. If the trouble has fixed 
itself and it is too late to cut it short, the diet should be limited 
to milk, mush, and liquid foods; mild laxatives should be given, 
and hot foot-baths should never be neglected. 

If the swelling interfere with swallowing and breathing, allow- 
ing small pieces of ice to dissolve in the mouth will prove very 
beneficial. Iced milk or oyster soup are very appropriate foods 



382 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

in severe cases. Saline laxatives, hot foot-baths, and the free use 
of astringent and stimulating gargles, constitute the main treatment. 
Cold compresses to the throat are often very comforting. Almost 
any astringent, stimulating gargle, will prove beneficial. A solu- 
tion of tannic acid, oak bark, tincture of iron, or chlorate of potash, will 
tend to promote recovery. Cohen's gargle, which any druggist 
can prepare, answers an excellent purpose, or the gargle of chlor- 
ate of potash and sumach berries, referred to elsewhere, is perhaps 
unexcelled as a gargle for simple sore throat. 



CHRONIC SORE THROAT. 

Simple Chronic Pharyngitis, or chronic sore throat, is a very 
common affection. Somewhat characteristic varieties of the 
affection are known as Follicular Pharyngitis, Clergymen's Sore 
Throat, Granular Pharyngitis, etc. Throat affections are much 
more common with young persons than with those in middle and 
advanced life. 

Cause. — Hereditary tendencies, repeated acute attacks, breath- 
ing impure air, breathing the dry, hot air of modern furnace- 
heated rooms, chronic nasal catarrh, breathing through the mouth, 
torpidity of the liver, habitual acidity of the stomach, dyspepsia, 
the use of tobacco, and habits which depress the powers of life. 
Straining and overworking the parts give rise to the granular 
variety. 

Symptoms. — Dryness of the throat, cough, hawking, huskiness 
of the voice, and expectoration, especially upon rising in the 
morning. The throat is easily fatigued, and it is very sensitive 
to atmospheric changes. 

Treatment. — In most cases the general health needs improve- 
ment. If the liver is torpid, no local application will cure until 
the exciting cause is removed. Regulation of the diet, mild 
laxatives, especially phosphate of soda and podophyllin, will 
prove helpful. If the general health is poor, iron, quinine, cod- 
liver oil, and other tonics, should be used. 

Sometimes carefully touching the throat with a solution of 
caustic is exceedingly useful. Such treatment, however, is only 



TONSILITIS. 383 

suited to experienced hands, as, when not indicated, it may prove 
worse than useless. 

The moderate use of lozenges medicated with cubebs, chlorate 
of potash, muriate of ammonia, benzoic acid, or other appropriate 
medicaments, is often of great service ; but I am fully persuaded 
that the wholesale manner in which people consume cough 
lozenges for throat affections, does far more harm than good. 

If the patient sleeps with the mouth open, some device should 
be used to keep the jaws closed during sleep. 

It should not be forgotten, in this connection, that chronic sore 
throat is, in most instances, only a secondary affection, dependent 
upon some other disease. In a majority of cases it is due to 
chronic nasal catarrh, and the treatment, of course, must be 
directed to the source of the trouble, otherwise it is only time and 
effort wasted. 

L 
TONSILITIS. 

Tonsilitis consists of an inflammation of the tonsils, and aggra- 
vated cases are often called Quinsy. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold and wet, inherited tendencies, chronic 
enlargement of the tonsils, and scrofulous taint of the system. 
Age seems to influence the disease, as it is most common between 
the ages of ten and thirty years. 

Symptoms. — Acute cases are apt to begin with a chill, more or 
less pronounced, followed by pains in the legs and back, headache, 
and fever, all of which vary greatly in different cases. 

The tonsils, which may be seen on either side hy depressing 
the tongue with a spoon handle, are swollen and red. There is 
a sense of dryness and stiffness in the throat ; the tongue is coated, 
the breath offensive, with more or less pain and difficulty of 
swallowing. The difficulty and disturbance of breathing are 
often very severe. 

An abscess sometimes forms, and when the discharge of its 
contents takes place, the symptoms abruptly disappear. 

Treatment. — Ten to fifteen grains of quinine will often greatly 
modify an attack. 



384 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Guaiacis considered, in the early stages of the complaint, almost 
a specific. 

A— 384. 

Ammoniated tincture of guaiac, 1 teaspoonful 

Milk, * glass. 

Gargle with one mouthful, and swallow the remainder. May- 
be repeated every hour. 

Cohen's Gargle, which any druggist can make, contains ammoni- 
ated tincture of guaiac, and is well adapted to the treatment of 
Tonsilitis. A teaspoonful may be taken every hour or two, and 
the throat may be gargled with it every two hours. 

Guaiac lozenges, a very effectual remedy, may be allowed to 
dissolve in the mouth. A full dose of Epsom Salts or solution of 
citrate of magnesia should be taken at the start ; and if the fever 
is severe, one drop of tincture of aconite every hour, and three to 
five drops of tincture of belladonna every two hours, will prove 
beneficial. 

Constant gargling with warm milk or warm water will often act 
well, 
Or 

Frequent gargling with peroxide of hydrogen diluted with 
equal parts of water. 
Or 

Applying ice hag to the throat. 
Or 

Breathing over the mouth of a jug containing boiling hot water, 
to which a little pure vinegar has been added, is an excellent 
remedy and within the reach of all. 
Or 

Twenty drops of wine of ipecac every three hours, and freely 
drinking of flaxseed tea, are good treatment. 
Or 

Bathing the neck with hartshorn liniment, or painting it with 
iodine, will assist. 



CHRONIC ENLARGEMENT OF THE TONSILS. 3S5 

Or 

Diluted vinegar sweetened with honey makes a very effectual 
gargle. 

CHRONIC ENLARGEMENT OF THE TONSILS. 

This is a very common affection among children, but old people 
are almost entirely exempt from it. Why this is so is not known 
— a question not yet answered. Some claim that it is always of 
a scrofulous origin, but I am sure such is not the case. It seems 
to prevail in some families, and is the most common in damp 
and cold weather. Repeated colds and mouth-breathing con- 
duce to the affection. 

Symptoms. — More or less difficulty of breathing, and the hear- 
ing is apt to be interfered with : the voice is thick and peculiar, 
and one or both tonsils are red and swollen. There is but little 
pain, sometimes none; indeed, unless the enlargement is quite 
considerable, but little annoyance accompanies the disorder. 
Snoring, breathing through the mouth, dilated nostrils, catarrh, 
holding the mouth half open, partial deafness, and physical 
timidity, sum up a deformity daily seen resulting from enlarged 
tonsils. 

Treatment. — Warm clothing, good shoes, substantial, plain food, 
healthy out-of-door exercise, and plenty of sleep, are all of import- 
ance in diseases of this nature. The long-continued use of astrin- 
gents sometimes will reduce enlarged tonsils, especially when 
not of very long standing. A gargle made by adding vinegar and 
salt to strong red pepper tea will have a tendency to relieve : twenty 
grains of tannin in one ounce of water, to which is applied a little 
honey, make an excellent application. It should be applied with 
a camel's-hair brush directly to the tonsils, or it may be used as a 
gargle. 

Alum or tincture of iron and MonseU's solution may be diluted 
with water, sweetened with honey, and applied with a camel's- 
hair brush. 

Physicians are much given to the application of lunar caustic, 
either in stick or solution, and in many cases it is the best 

25 



386 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

remedy ; but its use should be confined to their judgment. Re- 
moving a portion of the tonsil by a surgical operation is painless, 
and in extreme cases is justifiable. 

When astringents are used, they should be applied for a long 
time, as a few applications will do but little good. 

Rubbing bicarbonate of soda over their surface three times a day 
with the finger, is said. to gradually reduce enlarged tonsils. By 
referring to the symptoms mentioned in this article, the import- 
ance of obtaining relief will be apparent. Such affections should 
always be relieved. 



ELONGATED UVULA. 

The uvula, often improperly called the palate, sometimes 
becomes enlarged and elongated, and by its constant irritation 
frequently gives rise to a variety of functional derangements. 

Cause. — A relaxed condition of the system ; catarrh of the back 
part of the nose, where hawking and hemming are required to 
remove the accumulations ; smoking and intemperance. 

Symptoms. — Tickling of the throat, a hacking cough, difficulty 
nf breathing, snoring, nausea, derangement of the stomach, gag- 
ging, especially when in the recumbent posture. The irritation is 
apt to invite other throat and lung troubles, especially in those 
predisposed to them. All authorities agree that consumption is 
occasionally hastened by an elongated uvula. Nightmare has 
been attributed to it. The color of the throat is usually changed, 
being either deep red or pale. The uvula will sometimes have 
the appearance of a loose bag containing liquid, being larger at 
the end than near the attachment. Sometimes the uvula itself 
is not too long, but the palate or roof of the mouth becomes 
relaxed, and sags down and permits the uvula to drag in the 
throat or on the tongue, causing all the symptons of an elongated 
uvula. 

Treatment. — If the patient is young, and the difficulty has not 
existed long, it may be cured by brushing the parts twice a day 
with a solution of tannin (twenty grains to one ounce of water, 
sweetened with honey), or a solution of alum, or dilute tincture of 



ELONGATED UVULA. 387 

iron, applied in the same way. Equal parts of tincture of capsicum 
and glycerine make an excellent gargle. 

If the subject is an adult, or if the elongation has existed for 
some time, it is, as a rule, best to have a physician clip off the end 
of the uvula. It is a painless, harmless, and almost bloodless 
operation, and no fear at all need be entertained of any discom- 
fort during or following the operation. It will not injure the 
voice, as some suppose, and a resort to liquid food for a day or 
two is all that is necessary. 

If the health is impaired, tonics, such as iron, quinine, and 
nux vomica, should be employed. 



LARYNGITIS. 

Laryngitis is inflammation of the organ of the voice, or larynx. 
This organ is located at the top of the windpipe behind the 
"Adam's apple," and is an ingenious and delicate structure, 
containing various muscles, the vocal cords, and various pieces 
of cartilage which hinge upon one another. 

Acute laryngitis of a mild type is very common, but severe 
cases are quite rare. It is more frequent after the age of child- 
hood. 

Cause. — Exposure to cold and wet ; sleeping with the mouth 
open ; swallowing corrosive poisons ; or the lodgment of irritating 
substances, as a fish bone, or other substances that accidentally 
" go the wrong way." 

Symptoms. — The main symptom is hoarseness, which varies 
from a very slight change in the voice to its almost entire extinc- 
tion. Other symptoms are, pain and soreness of the throat, fever, 
dryness of the skin, loss of appetite, and cough. When the 
disease is severe these symptoms are well marked, and the diffi- 
culty of breathing and swallowing is quite pronounced. 

Treatment. — The bowels should be freely opened with a saline 
purge, and if there is debility ten grains of quinine should be 
taken daily. 

Mustard plasters, painting tuith iodine, or hartshorn liniment over 
the throat, will often give great relief. The inhalation of hot water 



388 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

vapor is very useful, and the addition of muriate of ammonia to 
the water will increase its virtues for this purpose. Hot applica- 
tions to the throat are often beneficial. Ice, or cold applications, 
not too prolonged, are well suited to other cases, especially where 
the parts seem to be feverish. 

When the breathing is hurried, the fever high, and the face 
flushed, accompanied with a sense of suffocation, a physician 
should be summoned. 

Chronic Laryngitis of a mild type is somewhat common in 
catarrhal affections and in chronic bronchitis; but when it is 
marked by decided and persistent symptoms, such as hoarseness 
or loss of voice, cough, soreness, and an uneasy feeling about the 
parts, it is more than likely that some cause more than those 
mentioned is present. 

Laryngitis is associated with disease of the lungs more often 
than any other affection of the throat. Indeed, it is a natural 
inference that those who have decided chronic laryngitis are 
also victims of pulmonary trouble. It is always the duty of 
the physician to extend his diagnosis to the lungs in these 
cases. Laryngitis may be complicated with chronic venereal 
troubles. 

Treatment. — The family physician should always be consulted 
in this disease. The cause should invariably be looked for, and 
the treatment regulated accordingly. If it is associated with 
symptoms of consumption, proper treatment should be adopted. 
Coal-liver oil, iron, arsenic, and tonics, are usually appropriate. 
Such measures as bathing, followed by friction; out-of-door exercise ; 
woolen clothing; liberal diet, and a change of air, or, perhaps, of 
occupation, will often prove highly beneficial. Inhaling apparatus 
are at present largely used, and in almost every drug store may 
be found a variety of apparatus for this purpose. This form of 
medication is extremely useful. Muriate of ammonia, creosote, 
menthol, tar, oil of eucalyptus, and carbolic acid, are all valuable. 
As before stated, the services of a wide-awake physician should 
be procured. Diseases of the larynx are too serious to be trifled 
with, 



TOOTHACHE. 389 

TOOTHACHE. 

Toothache, or Odontalgia, is a very common affection, and 
there are few people indeed who do not sooner or later suffer 
from it. 

Cause. — The chief cause of toothache is decayed teeth. "When 
cavities form and the nerve pulp becomes exposed, more or less 
pain is sure to result. Ulcerations at the root of a tooth are sure 
to cause severe pain. Neuralgia and faceache are often the source 
of toothache. 

Treatment. — The cause of the pain should be sought, and its 
removal will effect a cure. If it is due to neuralgia, the internal 
use of quinine, and counter-irritation to the face, will be apt to 
relieve. It is not good policy to have teeth extracted simply 
because they ache. A dentist can often save a tooth even after 
it has become greatly decayed, and his opinion should always be 
secured in the matter of having teeth extracted. On the other 
hand, worthless roots and snags should always be extracted 
whether they ache or not. Their presence always jeopardizes 
other teeth. 

Many people think that if the jaw is greatly swollen, or if an 
ulcer has formed at the root of a tooth and the parts are inflamed, 
it is not safe to extract a tooth. Such, however, is not the case. 
If a tooth is decayed and worthless it is always best to remove it, 
no matter what the condition of the jaw may be. 

Most cases of toothache are due to decayed teeth, and the 
appropriate treatment consists in applying such substances as will 
afford relief. 

The cavity of the affected tooth should be cleaned out, and a 
pledget of cotton wet with the medicament should be inserted ; 
and if it is desired that the gums and tongue shall escape contact, 
a piece of dry cotton may be placed over the tooth. 

Oil of cloves, used as above, is one of the best remedies for 
toothache, and it is the basis of many of the various toothache 
drops on the market. 
Or 

Creosote, or Carbolic Acid, is well calculated to stop the pain by 



390 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

killing the nerve if it is exposed, and either may be applied as 

above described. 

Or 

Equal parts of alum and salt powdered together and inserted 
in the cavity, will often quickly relieve. 
Or 

A small piece of menthol, or a pledget of cotton wet with oil of 
peppermint, will answer a good purpose. 
Or 

Bathing the face and gums about the teeth with any good 
liniment, laudanum, camphor, or paregoric, will always tend to 
bring relief. 

The following has been used by the author for years as — 

A— 390.— TOOTHACHE DROPS. 

Oil cajuput, ... 5 drops 

Oil cloves, 5 drops 

Ether, 1 drachm 

Spirits camphor, 1 drachm 

Laudanum, 1 drachm. 

Mix. Apply in cavity on cotton. 

Or 

If there is no cavity, and ordinary remedies fail to relieve, 
small pieces of cotton wet with chloroform and applied to the 
gums, are a very efficient application. 



TONGUE-TIE. 

Tongue-tie consists in the extension of the " framum " — the 
thin membrane under the middle of the tongue that holds it 
to the floor of the mouth — too far toward the end of the 
tongue. 

It is apt to interfere with the process of nursing, and later on 
with articulation. In all cases the attention of the physician 
should be called to the deformity. He can quickly and easily 
remedy it by a very simple operation. 



TORPID LIVER. 391 



TORPID LIVER. 



Torpidity of the liver, commonly called "Liver Complaint," has 
already been treated in a general way under Biliousness, Consti- 
pation, and Dyspepsia, to all of which it is very closely related. 
Many persons ascribe to the liver most of the derangements 
which disturb the appetite, clog the secretions, and blunt and 
pervert the mental faculties. The condition of the liver when 
torpid is one of congestion, attended with more or less enlargement. 

Cause. — The same as are named under Biliousness, Dyspepsia, 
and Constipation. Deranged conditions of the circulation of the 
blood are very apt to induce a torpid liver. Malaria, debility, 
and anything which impairs the physical vigor tends to invite it. 
Rich foods and irregular habits are frequent causes. The use of 
patent pills and strong cathartics aggravate and cause, rather 
than cure, liver derangements. 

Symptoms. — Dull pains in the limbs, back, and head, general 
languor, coated tongue, giddiness, vertigo, confusion of mind, 
depressed spirits, nausea, headache, constipation, flatulence, clay- 
colored stools, cold hands and feet, slight jaundice, pain and 
discomfort when lying upon the left side, stupidity and sleep- 
lessness ; tenderness, and a sense of fullness over the liver, on the 
right side at lower edge of the ribs; pain in the shoulders, 
chronic cough, hypochondria, irritable temper, and sour dispo- 
sition. 

Treatment. — In no affection is a strict regime more necessary. 
Most cases can be cured by regulating the diet alone. The action 
of the skin and bowels must be carefully promoted ; but, as a 
rule, " liver regulators," calomel, and strong cathartics must be 
avoided. Tobacco, tea, coffee, and alcoholic beverages of all kinds 
must be discarded. If the system is run down, the circulation 
poor, or the general health impaired, rest and relaxation are 
necessary. 

The various measures named under Biliousness, Dyspepsia, and 
Constipation will be found useful, such as small doses of dilute 
muriatic acid, tincture nux vomica, drinking freely of warm water, 
acid baths as described elsewhere — all of which must be persisted 



392 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

in for a long time. We cannot too strongly recommend the use 
of small doses of nitro-muriatic acid in chronic liver complaint. 
Taken in five-drop doses it will be found a sovereign remedy. It 
should be taken at meal time, well diluted with water. Acid 
baths should always be tried when other measures fail. 

Half teaspoonful doses of fluid extract of dandelion three times a 
day, for several weeks, have been found useful. Mild laxatives 
only should be used. Small doses of podophyllin at night or 
some laxative mineral water in the morning will prove beneficial. 

Phosphate of Soda, one teaspoonful in warm water every morn- 
ing, is perhaps the best of all laxatives for torpid liver.- Persons 
with torpid liver usually feel weak and debilitated, and often 
resort to iron, stimulants, cod-liver oil, etc., when such are not at 
all indicated in the treatment. 



VACCINATION. 

Cow-pox is essentially smallpox bovinized. When matter is taken 
from a cow-pox pustule and introduced into the skin of a human 
being, it will — if it " takes " — produce a pustule, perhaps a number 
of them, in the region of the inoculated parts. The pustule 
will follow a well-defined course, and will absorb from the system 
the susceptibility to smallpox poison, and, for a number of years, 
render the individual exempt from the influence of the disease. 
This is known as vaccination. Perhaps more than anything else 
within the realm of scientific medicine, the subject of vaccination 
has been discussed. Edward Jenner, over a hundred years ago, 
noticed that persons who contracted cow-pox while milking cows, 
escaped having smallpox. After several years of observation and 
experiment, he made the discovery known to the world. Since 
his time the universal practice of vaccination for smallpox has 
reduced the deaths from this disease to a very small number. 

Vaccination, however, has met with persistent opposition. 
There have been hundreds of anti-vaccination pamphlets pub- 
lished, and there are at the present time no less than six periodicals 
devoted to opposing the custom. To counteract this, however, 
the medical profession is almost a unit in favor of it, and statistics 



VACCINATION. 393 

collected during the past hundred years seem to prove conclusively 
that it has been a boon to humanity, and that it has almost ob- 
literated from the earth one of the most loathsome diseases with 
which humanity has had to contend. 

The propagation and collection of vaccine virus direct from the 
heifer is now a part of medical science, and the old method of 
passing a scab around from one family to another has, fortunately, 
become obsolete. Much damage has been done, no doubt, by 
using virus which has been contaminated by disease. From the 
vaccine farms comes virus direct from perfectly healthy and well- 
kept heifers, and it can be used with full confidence that no dis- 
ease will enter the system by its employment. 

Vaccination, to be protective against smallpox, must " take ; " 
that is, it must follow a well-defined course. To insure this, only 
fresh virus should be employed. A physician should be entrusted 
with the operation, as it should be properly done. When vaccine 
fails to take, it is not an indication that the person vaccinated is 
not susceptible to the virus, but more than likely it is due to the 
virus being inert, or to the fact that it was improperly applied. 
As a rule, children should be vaccinated before they are six 
months old. If there is a tendency to disease of the skin, it is 
always wise to consult a physician before deciding on vaccination, 
unless there are special reasons for it. Re-vaccination at the end 
of every ten years is desirable. 

Vaccine virus can be obtained from any druggist, with full 
directions accompanying it, by giving a few days' notice. It is 
collected on the tips of small pieces of bone so shaped as to be 
used to scarify the parts. The best place to apply the vaccine is 
on the arm, between the shoulder and the elbow. The scarifica- 
tion of the skin should be carefully done, so as not to draw the 
blood, yet the tender portion of the skin should be reached. The 
virus should be dampened with water, thoroughly applied to the 
scarified surface, and allowed to dry for twenty minutes. If it 
takes properly, the resulting sore will be typical, and go through 
a well-defined process. No other sore acts just like it. 

In about four days following the operation a small papule 
appears. 



394 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

During the fifth, sixth, and seventh days a vesicle forms. 

Ahout the eighth day the vesicle turns to a pustule. 

From the ninth to the eleventh day an areola forms. 

About the twelfth day it begins to dry. 

From the seventeenth to the twentieth day the scab drops off. 

The scab is round, thick, and of a mahogany color. 

If its history fails to correspond with the foregoing outline, 
the treatment will not prove effectual as a preventive against 
smallpox. 

If virus is to be used from a scab taken from another person — 
" humanized virus " — care should be exercised in selecting none 
but that from healthy and robust persons, and also that it be from 
a person who was vaccinated for the first time. 



VARICOSE VEINS. 

Varicose, or Enlargement of the Veins, in its popular meaning, 
consists of an enlargement of the superficial veins of the lower 
limbs. One or both legs may be affected. The veins may 
become varicosed, however, in any part of the body. Varicocele 
and piles are forms of varicose veins. 

Cause. — Anything which obstructs circulation, a debilitated 
and relaxed state of the system, exercise which puts the lower 
abdomen and limbs under great strain, or remaining too con- 
stantly in an erect posture. Pregnancy, dropsy, and the presence 
of tumors, are often exciting causes. The wearing of non-elastic 
garters comes in for a share of the blame. It is, perhaps, about 
evenly divided between men and women, and is most apt to occur 
in middle life. 

Symptoms. — The diagnosis of this affection is simple. The 
veins sometimes become greatly enlarged, causing pain, heaviness, 
and clumsiness of the limb. Sometimes the skin becomes irri- 
tated and ulcers form, which are always difficult to cure. Veins 
occasionally burst, and the bleeding is sometimes profuse. 

Treatment. — Those threatened or afflicted with varicose veins 
should lose no time in removing or avoiding the exciting causes 
of the complaint. Tight garters should be discarded, constipation 



VARICOSE VEINS. 395 

relieved and prevented, prolonged and tiresome exercise on the 
feet abandoned, and the general health improved. The most 
satisfactory appliances for the relief and cure of varicose veins 
are the pure rubber bandage and the elastic stocking, made to fit. 
A rubber bandage should be about 2\ inches wide, and of proper 
length. It should, as a rule, be worn over a thin stocking. It 
should be applied by beginning near the toes, and evenly and 
carefully covering the limb as far as the enlargement of the veins 
extends. The bandage should be applied the first thing in the 
morning, and removed at bedtime ; and if it should at any time 
cause undue pain, uneasiness, or swelling of the foot, it should be 
removed at once. It should be of pure rubber, thin, and of good 
quality. 

Elastic stockings are, perhaps, to be preferred to the bandage, 
but are more expensive, and it is more difficult to obtain an even 
pressure in their use. They may be made to lace ; but when they 
are made to order, after a correct measure, it is, perhaps, best not 
to have them lace. Those that lace have the advantage, however, 
of admitting the drawing up or letting out which is sometimes 
desirable. Those in need of such articles should apply to a 
druggist, who will furnish blanks and directions for measuring, 
and a fit can be secured in every case. 

Should stockings or bandage irritate the skin, it is best to wear 
a thin stocking under them ; indeed, this is always to be recom- 
mended. If a stocking is to be worn night and day, it is best to 
have two, and wear one of lighter weight at night, as but little 
pressure is needed while the patient is in a recumbent position. 

Sometimes a very satisfactory laced stocking can be made out of 
cloth, the service and utility of which depends largely upon the 
ingenuity of the one who makes it. A common muslin bandage 
should never be used for varicosed veins, except in rare instances. 
A woolen bandage is far preferable to one made of cotton fabric. 
Sometimes a surgical operation is advisable ; but, as a rule, it 
fails to effect a permanent cure. 



396 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

VENEREAL DISEASES. 

We will mention only one of the two diseases usually con- 
sidered under the above heading, namely, Syphilis, and we 
assume that those who read this chapter need no description 
of the primary stages of the disease. 

Syphilis is of two kinds, acquired and inherited. It is a 
dreadful disease. God has marked no sin with a more terrible 
and indelible brand than that which the virus of this loathsome 
disease inflicts. The havoc which it produces is apparent onty 
to the educated physician. Deformed bones, decayed teeth, dis- 
eased minds, scrofulous bodies, shattered nerves, organic and 
incurable diseases of various kinds, descending, as a legacy, 
from the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth 
generation, tell us upon every side that the laws of God cannot 
be transgressed without bringing punishment. 

Should any who read this book be so unfortunate as to 
contract this disease, it is to be hoped that they will realize 
the gravity of their misfortune. The probabilities are that in 
their bodies, to the very marrow of their bones, it will settle ; and 
in their vitals its poison will flow, and, like a damning curse, it 
will contaminate and dwarf the vital forces designed to perpetuate 
the human race. The claims of posterity demand that the young 
manhood of our land be saved from this destroying monster — 
this pitfall to virtue, health, and character. 

The treatment of this disease in all its phases — from first to last 
— requires the services of a skillful physician. Do not consult 
the quack or advertising doctor who makes a speciality of this 
class of diseases. Avoid him as you would a serpent; he is the 
most disgraceful scab within the whole realm of medical practice. 
In almost every manufacturing centre there are itinerants who 
solicit this kind of practice, and are always anxious to try their 
skill ; they are usually moral lepers, and should be avoided. All 
patent medicines are entirely useless ; using them is a waste of 
time and money. Do not consult a druggist who handles such 
matters as a side issue to his business. 

Consult a physician, and assure him of your intention of loyally 



VOMITING. 397 

following his directions. Pay him well for his services, and it 
is proper and right that his charges be liberal. If the disease is 
cured and thoroughly eradicated from the system, it will be by a 
course of treatment far beyond the scope of promiscuous dosing, 
or popular medication. No disease needs the life-time oversight 
of a physician more than this one; and those tainted by its 
influence, no matter how long separated from its inception, 
should entrust the matter with a practitioner ambitious and 
competent to render the full benefit of modern medical skill. 



VOMITING. 

While vomiting is only a symptom of some morbid condition, 
it is sometimes of such a nature as to require special treatment. 

Cause. — Most of the cases of vomiting are due to irritating sub- 
stances within the stomach. Such substances may be simply 
food, while the coating of the stomach is so sensitive as to be 
irritated by simple contact ; or the substance may be revolting to 
the natural instinct of the stomach ; or it may be a poison. Dis- 
orders of the brain, injuries, or any decided shock to the system, 
are apt to provoke nausea and vomiting. 

Treatment. — The cause should always be found out and, if 
possible, removed, when the vomiting will cease. If it is due to 
some offending substance within the stomach, perhaps the best 
thing is to let it continue until the stomach is emptied ; or per- 
haps it should be assisted by draughts of warm water. 

Ice is one of the best remedies for ordinary sick stomach. Small 
pieces allowed to melt in the mouth and swallowed, will relieve 
most cases, and should always be tried. 

Lime water is the most used of any remedy for vomiting. It 
should be mixed with an equal quantity of milk, and given in 
tablespoonful doses every half hour. The stomach will often 
accept and digest this mixture when no other food can be taken. 

Any one of the following will be found useful : — 

Two drops of chloroform on sugar every hour. 

One drop of creosote or carbolic acid every hour or two. 

One drop of wine of ipecac every hour. 



398 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

Three grains of oxalate of cerium every three hours. 
Five grains subnitrate of bismuth before eating. 
Five grains bicarbonate of soda when stomach is sour. 
One-twentieth grain calomel on the tongue every hour. 
One drop Fowler's solution of arsenic before meals. 
Plain soda water, Apollinaris water, and Vichy water. 
Ice at the nape of the neck. 
Mustard plasters over the stomach. 

For children, a spice plaster over the stomach is to be preferred 
to mustard. 



WALKING IN THE SLEEP-Somnambulism. 

Those who arise from their bed during sleep and perambulate 
the room or house, or perhaps venture out-of-doors, always regard 
their acts with apprehension. Such persons are afraid they will 
crawl out at a window, fall down stairs, wander into some treach- 
erous locality, or expose themselves to ridicule. 

Somnambulism may result from some peculiar nervous organ- 
ization, or it may be due to deranged health, as dyspepsia, 
constipation, or hysteria. When it occurs in old persons who 
have not previously been subject to it, it is apt to indicate brain 
disorder of a more or less serious nature. It usually takes place 
either soon after going to bed, or toward morning, and not during 
the period of profound sleep. 

Treatment. — Improve the general health. If there exists 
dyspepsia, constipation, or intestinal worms, they should be re- 
moved. The diet should be regulated, and no food should be 
taken for several hours before going to bed. A strong impression 
made upon the mind will sometimes effect a cure. Some one 
should sleep with those so addicted and be ready to awaken the 
would-be wanderer. Fastening the big toe to the bed-post with a 
string, or sprinkling the floor with nails or other articles calculated 
to impede walking, might suit desperate cases. 



399 



WARTS. 

"Warts, verrucse, are round, elevated, smooth or irregular, color- 
less or pigmented growths upon the skin. 

They are most common upon the hands, but are occasionally 
seen upon other parts of the body. Their cause is obscure. They 
are much more common with children than with adults. 

They may last a lifetime, or disappear spontaneously. When 
one is removed by medical or surgical aid, others are apt to dis- 
appear without treatment. 

Treatment. — Warts, such as are found on the hands of boys, 
require no treatment. They will some day be missed, and the 
order of their going will be a mystery. 

Young ladies sometimes seek their removal, and mild remedies 
should always be first tried. Painting them twice daily with 
tincture of iodine, a strong solution of blue stone, strong acetic acid, 
or carbolic acid, will often dispel them. So will powdered tannin 
or burnt alum, dusted on. 

Before applying any of the above, the warts should be closely 
pared. 

Chromic acid and nitric acid are strong caustics and will remove 
them ; but care should be taken not to include the surrounding 
skin in the application. These remedies are safer in the hands 
of a physician. 

Cutting them closely and rubbing them with stick caustic is an 
effectual remedy. Ligating them with a waxed silk is sometimes 
the best treatment. Electricity will remove them. Burning them 
with a heated instrument is a painful but safe and effectual pro- 
cedure. Sometimes they can be scraped out with the side of a 
spoon or other instrument. 

When a wart is large or disposed to be angry, or is on an aged 
person, a physician had better remove it, as warts sometimes take 
on unhealthy action. 

The following is said to remove them : — 

A— 399. 

Salicylic acid, 30 grains 

Alcohol, 32 drops 

Ether, 120 drops 

Collodion, 4 drachms. 

Mix. Apply daily to warts. 



400 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

WETTING THE BED. 

This habit, also known as Incontinence of Urine, is confined 
almost entirely to young children. 

Cause. — Habit, neglect of parental training, mental deficiency, 
or it may result from irritable bladder, or the presence of irritat- 
ing substances in the urine. Colored children are much more 
prone to it than white, which argues in favor of negligence being 
a prolific cause. It is often an annoying accompaniment of the 
diseases incident to advanced life. The presence of worms, and 
physical imperfections of the parts involved, sometimes cause the 
weakness. 

Treatment. — If a child is inclined to pass water frequently 
during the day, it indicates that it is due to some disease or local 
irritation, which, as a rule, can be easily remedied. 

Withholding liquids for two or three hours prior to going to 
bed, always having the child to urinate before retiring, if possi- 
ble having it wake up and repeat the act once or twice during the 
night, may break the habit. The child should be thoroughly 
aroused each time, however, or the mental training will be lost. 
Training the child to regularity, and somewhat seldom acts dur- 
ing the day, will have a beneficial effect. To permit young 
children to go undried begets a slovenly nature, while a strict 
discipline in these matters not only inculcates an essential train- 
ing, but a child may be so trained as to become exceedingly 
uncomfortable at the least infringement of cleanliness. Children 
should be educated to clean habits, to abominate filth — and 
should be taught this early. 

When they soil the bed, they should not be permitted to lie 
in discomfort all night, but they should be dried at once, and the 
soiled bed-clothes replaced. This may be a trying task in the 
middle of the night, but it always pays. A waterproof cloth 
should always cover the bed where such an accident is likely to 
take place. Children should be taught to lie on the side, because 
while on the back gravity involves the most sensitive portion of 
the bladder in pressure. Attention to this one little point will 
sometimes bring about a cure of the trouble. 



WHOOPING COUGH. 401 

Discipline of the right sort can sometimes be used to advan- 
tage, especially where the child is large and the habit becomes a 
matter of thoughtlessness; but it should not be forgotten that 
most cases are beyond the child's control, and punishment or even 
unkindness will do harm. A physician should always be con- 
sulted in obstinate cases, and should inquire into the prime cause 
of the difficulty. If he is busy, he may, without any intelligent 
search for the existing cause of the complaint, prescribe belladonna, 
and some alkaline diuretic, which may not be what is needed at 
all. The main thing to be done is to find out the cause and remove 
it. If this cannot be done, first one medicine and then another 
must be tried, until the cure is wrought. It is sometimes an ex- 
ceedingly difficult habit to overcome. Patience and discomfort 
must sometimes be prolonged. Improvement of the general 
health will sometimes cure the habit. The following is an ex- 
cellent— 

A— 401.— TONIC. 

Elixir iron, quinine, and strychnine, 1 ounce 

Syrup, 3 ounces. 

A teaspoonful in water, three times a day, for a child three years old. 

Or 

Tincture of belladonna, which is prescribed more than any- 
thing else for this trouble, may be given as follows : — 

B— 401. 

Tincture belladonna, 1 drachm 

Water, 4 ounces. 

One-half to one teaspoonful, to a child three years old. 

Each teaspoonful of this mixture contains two drops of 
belladonna, and should not be increased without consulting 
a physician. 

WHOOPING COUGH. 

Whooping cough, known in professional language as Pertussis, 
is essentially a disease of childhood, yet adults occasionally have 
it. It is contagious, and very few escape it during early life. 
One attack secures immunity from future attacks, except in very 
rare instances. 

Symptoms. — It begins like a hard cold or catarrh, with some 

26 



402 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

fever. At the end of about a week, or later, the characteristic 
" whoop " makes its appearance. The lungs, by a series of rapid 
and abrupt expirations, are emptied, and just when suffocation 
seems threatened there is a long-drawn inspiration, attended with 
the peculiar noise from which the disease derives its name. 
During a paroxysm the eyes are red and filled with tears, the 
face is red and swollen, and the countenance betokens suffering. 
The coughing and whooping produce a discharge of stringy 
mucus, sometimes in great abundance. Vomiting sometimes 
results; the nose is apt to bleed, and convulsions may occur. 
The cough is much worse at night. The disease lasts from six 
weeks to almost an indefinite length of time, the cough and 
catarrhal symptoms often being very loath to entirely disappear. 
A whole year sometimes passes before recovery is complete. 

Treatment. — Almost everything in the drug store is used for 
whooping cough, and most people believe it can be cured by 
proper medical treatment. Such, however, is not the case. There 
is no medicine, or combination of medicines, that will cut short 
the disease. The only thing that can be done is to palliate and 
modify the symptoms. In clear, bright weather it is best to go, 
more or less, in the open air. 

During the first stage an occasional dose of castor oil is useful. 
Syrup of ipecac should be taken to loosen the cough, and milk of 
asafoetida will be found useful to quiet the nervousness, upon 
which the cough largely depends. 

While the cough, the whoop, the mucous discharges, and the 
loss of sleep are all fully in process, remedies to lessen the violence 
of these symptoms are of great importance. 

Any of the following will be found useful : — 

Half teaspoonful doses of syrup of ipecac. 

Half teaspoonful doses of syrup of squills. 

Two or three drop doses of tincture of belladonna every four or 
six hours. 

Two or three drop doses of tincture of hyoscyamus. 

Teaspoonful doses of milk of asafcetida every three hours. 

Ten or fifteen drops of fluid extract of chestnut leaves every three 
or four hours, in water, are said to greatly modify the cough. 



DISEASES OP WOMEN. 403 

Put sixty grains of alum in four ounces of water, sweeten with 
honey, and give a teaspoonful every three hours. 

The following will be found useful to lessen the violence of the 
paroxysms : — 

A— 403. 

Bromide of potash, 1£ drachms 

Tincture of belladonna, 1 drachm 

Syrup of wild cherry bark, 3 ounces. 

Mix. A teaspoonful every four to six hours to a child ten years old, or 
one-half the quantity to a child five years of age. 

Or 

B— 403. 

Bromide of ammonia, 30 grains 

Simple elixir, 2 ounces. 

Mix. A teaspoonful three times a day. 

Or 

C— 403. 

Dilute nitric acid, 1 drachm 

Syrup of wild cherry, £ ounce 

Water, enough to make 2 ounces. 

Mix. One teaspoonful to a child five years old every three or four 
hours, diluted with water. 

Or 

D— 403. 

Cod-liver oil, "| 

Honey, > equal parts. 

Lemon juice, J 

Mix. Dose, a teaspoonful as often as necessary. 
Or 

Burning a few drops of carbolic acid on a hot shovel it is said, 
will often secure a good night's sleep. 

A child with severe whooping cough should be given but little 
food at a time, and that just after a paroxysm. Milk, in which is 
put a little lime water, is a very desirable food. 

Spraying the throat with a solution of quinine, thymol, carbolic 
acid, chloride of lime, or oil of eucalyptus, is just now being practiced 
with the most happy results. 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 

Diseases peculiar to women, or, in common parlance, " Female 
Diseases," have been given, through medical literature of the 
popular advertising sort, far more prominence than is either 
necessary or advisable. The discussion of this subject should 



404 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

not be intruded upon the naturally sympathetic mind of women. 
A great curse has been wrought by those who, for the sake of 
money, have disturbed blissful unconsciousness, stamping fear 
and nervousness upon the delicate organization of womanhood. 

Diseases of women are of two kinds, real and imaginary — 
i, e., those which really exist and affect the peculiar anatomy and 
physiology of the sex, and those which exist in the imagination 
only, and are due to the mental or nervous condition, so acutely 
sensitive in woman. 

If all that has been said, written, imagined, and done in 
relation to these diseases, could be swept into oblivion, and 
woman be restored to that blissful, serene, and natural uncon- 
sciousness of bodily ailments — her normal dominion — a new 
era, bright with joy and blessedness, would await the better 
half of the human race. 

It cannot be denied that diseases peculiar to women really 
exist ; but we are prepared to say that many of the cases con- 
sidered as diseases are either entirely imaginary, or of such a 
trivial nature as in no way to merit the importance which 
usually attends their notice. 

When we consider the intensely nervous and delicate organi- 
zation of women, and then behold the warning insinuations and 
frightening falsehoods coming to them, through nearly every 
avenue of journalism, by the mercenary efforts of charlatans, it 
becomes apparent why these derangements are so common as 
either real, or imaginary conditions. 

The man or woman who designedly distributes advertisements 
calculated to delude the mind and induce imaginary diseases 
with one hand, in order to create a demand for some worthless 
" compound" or " specific" offered in the other hand, is given over 
to a species of villainy which is deplorable, and which the women 
of America ought to repel with indignation. 

To encounter the claims of pretenders, so persistently urged, 
and at the same time live free from all forebodings and imaginary 
weaknesses, and consider health and harmony of physique as a 
matter of course, is a very desirable conquest for womanhood to 
make, nor is it an unattainable condition ; but, to the courageous, 



DISEASES OF WOMEN. 405 

self-poised woman who discerns, even though imperfectly, that 
ideal which the Great Artificer had in her creation, it may 
become a reality, through her efforts to live above fear and to 
obey the laws of her being. 

The treatment of the actual diseases to which the women of 
the present day are subject, should be entrusted entirely to 
the medical profession, and to the very best of the profession. 

Such treatment should be carried on under circumstances to 
insure confidence, and at all times the advice of the physician 
should be strictly followed. 

Listening to the deceptive advertisements of quackery is, in 
cases of this kind, a serious error. Books treating upon these 
subjects should be selected with special care, as many of those 
seeking recognition are inexpressibly objectionable. Several 
have been published, in reality, as advertisements of medical 
pretenders and secret nostrums. The women of Christendom 
are to be warned against these pernicious publications. Their 
influence is withering, and their effect blighting. 

There are, however, books upon these and kindred subjects 
pre-eminently worthy of respect and confidence. 

The Four Epochs of a Woman's Life, by Anna M. Galbraith, 
m. d., W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, price, $1.50 ; and 
Maternity, Infancy and Childhood, by John M. Keating, m. d., 
J. B. Lippincott & Co., price, $1.00, are both entirely reliable. 

Every thoughtful woman feels, when contemplating the duties 
of wifehood and maternity, the necessity of an intelligent knowl- 
edge and understanding of the laws of her physical being. 

Such a knowledge — too costly if bought by experience alone — 
can be thoroughly gained by the careful study of such books as 
we have mentioned above ; and future generations will bless her 
who seeks to give to her offspring every advantage that scientific 
research in the realm of physiology has brought within her reach. 

Let her thus learn the wonders of her own nature, and the 
reverence she owes herself, her sacred obligations as wife and 
mother, and her supreme responsibility to her Creator. 



400 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

WORMS. 

There are twenty-one different kinds of worms occasionally 
found within the alimentary canal. Only four kinds, however, 
are common, the others being mere curiosities. 

The four principal varieties are : — 

1. The Round Worm. 

2. The Thread or Seat Worm. 

3. The Tapeworm. 

4. The Trichina. 

ROUND WORMS. 

The Round, Lumbricoid or Long Round Worms, are the most 
common. They are about the diameter of a goose quill, and from 
a few inches to over one foot in length. 

Cause. — They enter with the food or drink, and multiply in 
the intestines. The habitation is confined to the small intestine, 
as they cannot exist for any length of time in the cavity of the 
stomach, or in the large bowel. They are most common in 
children after the second year ; infants and adults being compara- 
tively free from them. Children in the country and small towns, 
where well water is used, are much more troubled with them than 
city children. 

Symptoms. — Worms may exist without giving rise to any 
symptoms whatever. Their discharge is often the only sign of their 
presence; indeed, it is the only proof. Dyspeptic disorders, such 
as variable appetite, constipation, diarrhoea, swollen abdomen, 
restlessness at night, picking of the nose, and a peculiar paleness 
around the nose. Worms sometimes cause convulsions. 

Treatment. — Santonin is the best remedy in the Materia 
Medica for round worms. Most of the worm lozenges and tablets 
contain one-half grain each of santonin, the remainder of .the 
lozenge being sugar flavored with peppermint, chocolate, etc. 
The dose for a child is about one-half grain, and two to three 
grains for an adult, taken night and morning. Care must be 
exercised in its use, as it is poisonous in large doses. It dis- 
turbs the vision, causing objects seen to assume a yellow tinge, 



WORMS. 407 

and the urine also becomes highly colored during its use. A 
cathartic should always follow its administration, to carry off the 
worms. 

I have sold the various worm lozenges and confections for 
years, and no class of remedies gives better satisfaction. Full 
directions accompany each package. 

The following is perhaps quite as efficient as the above. 

Fluid extract qfpinkroot and senna, one ounce. Dose. One-half 
teaspoonful to children. Two teaspoonfuls to adults. 

It should be given early in the morning for several days, and 
repeated at the end of a week or so. 

THREAD WORMS. 

This variety, also known as Seat Worms or Pin Worms, is very 
annoying to some people. They are most common among 
children. Some families seem to be predisposed to them. They 
infest the lower bowel, giving rise to itching and irritation of the 
parts, and sometimes the general health suffers. 

Treatment. — The best remedy is an infusion of quassia injected 
into the bowel. Steep two ounces of quassia chips in one pint of 
water, and strain. Inject this into the bowel, having first washed 
out the bowel with warm water and soap. 

This should be repeated as often as necessary, and larger 
amounts sometimes used. 

It is best that the liquid be retained in the bowel for a few 
minutes, and with children it may be necessary to hold it in with 
a small piece of rag folded. 
Or 

Santonin Suppositories, two grains each. Insert one in the bowel 
every night. 
Or 

Inject a tablespoonful of common salt dissolved in a teacupful 
of water. 
Or 

A dose of Epsom salts, or salts and senna occasionally, will 
destroy them. 



408 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 

TAPEWORM. 

There are several varieties of tapeworm, but there is no prac- 
tical use of going into details. These worms generally exist 
singly in the bowel, but they are exceedingly prolific in depositing 
eggs. It is claimed that a single worm will deposit forty-two 
million eggs annually. They may live for ten or fifteen years, 
and they sometimes reach a length of fifty to one hundred feet. 
Indeed, it is said that they have been known to measure six 
hundred feet. They are composed of segments, growing larger 
from the head, and lengthening as the tail end is approached. 
The segments become detached from the tail, and discharged, 
much resembling bleached gourd seeds. 

Symptoms. — There may be no symptoms whatever, or they may 
cause a long list of annoying sensations. Passing the segments 
from the bowel is the only proof of their presence. 

Treatment. — Many remedies have been used, but there are 
only a few in general use at the present time. 

Pumpkin seeds are well adapted to general use, as they are not 
only harmless, but very efficient in the removal of tapeworm. I 
have on several occasions witnessed the most satisfactory results 
from their use. 

Let the patient eat but little, or fast altogether for twenty-four 
hours ; in the morning deprive from one to two ounces of pump- 
kin seeds of their shells, beat the pulp into a powder with pul- 
verized sugar, and stir the whole in a glass of milk, and drink. 
In two or three hours take one or two ounces of castor oil. Tur- 
pentine is a very effectual remedy for tapeworm, but inferior to 
the above. One or two ounces should be taken, and in two or 
three hours take a large dose of castor oil. The turpentine is best 
given beaten up with the white of egg ; or the turpentine and the 
oil, one ounce of each, may be made into an emulsion. 

The above quantity always seems like an enormous dose of 
turpentine to those unacquainted with its action. This dose is, 
however, not so apt to cause unpleasant symptoms as would 
likely follow swallowing a smaller amount. 

PeUetierine, in liquid form, is often used. One dose comes 



WOUNDS. 409 

already prepared in a vial, and it is very effectual. As it costs 
three dollars a dose, a serious objection to its use exists. 

When persons have tapeworm they should live scrupulously 
clean, and when a worm is discharged it should be burned, and 
no opportunity be given to propagate from the eggs, which are 
microscopic. 

TRICHINA. 

Trichina, or flesh worm, is first introduced into the stomach and 
bowels, whence it migrates into the muscles of the body. It is 
very small, and results from eating uncooked hog meat. There 
is, as yet, no known remedy for this worm. The only thing to do 
is to avoid their presence in the system by avoiding all hog meat 
unless it is thoroughly cooked. 



HOOKWORM DISEASE 

The Hookworm Disease, Ucinariasis, Miner s Cachexia, Moun- 
tain or Brickmakers Anosmia, is an infectious, epidemic, para- 
sitic disease of the intestines. It is found in Italy, Egypt, India, 
the Philippines, Germany, Belgium and other countries ; more 
prevalent within a wide tropical belt encircling the earth. In this 
country it is found chiefly in the southeastern states. While per- 
sons of all ages are subject to it the greatest infection occurs be- 
tween the age of six and sixteen. 

Symptoms. — Ansemia, pale, pasty, yellow, dirty gray skin, 
faulty digestion, colicky pains, debility, swollen feet, sleepless- 
ness, headache and lassitude, but not much loss of weight. 

Tkeatment. — Prevention in infected localities by boiling 
drinking water, disinfecting all discharges, protecting the feet 
from the earth and correct habits. Anthelmintics to kill the para- 
sites and cathartics to expel them from the system. So far pow u 
dered thymol is the most used remedy. Dose 5 to 30 grains for 
children ; 30 to 60 grains for adults. Alcoholic liquors must be 
avoided while taking thymol. Improvement of the general health, 
and iron and bitter tonics are specially useful. 



410 DISEASES AND OTHER AILMENTS. 



WOUNDS 



Wounds of various kinds must be treated according to their 
extent, location, character, and the means within reach. 

The first thing to be done is to make the patient comfortable. 
To do this may require but little skill, or it may tax our wits. 
Fright, faintness, pain, absence from home, etc., must always be 
treated upon common-sense principles. 

The treatment of a wound may be summed up in three words — 
cleanliness, position, rest. It should be thoroughly washed, for 
which there is nothing better than cold water. When this is 
done, the edges should be carefully brought together, and held in 
place by adhesive strips, sticking plaster, or court plaster. For 
small wounds but little else is to be done ; rest and protection of 
the parts being all that is necessary to promote the healing process. 

In wounds about the face, great care must be exercised in 
adjusting the edges, to avoid leaving scars. It is best in such 
cases to consult a physician, no matter how small the wound may 
be. Bleeding, unless a blood vessel is severed, is not usually 
severe, and requires little or no treatment. If a large vein or 
artery is divided, the bleeding will be profuse, and will require 
immediate attention. If the blood is of a bright red color, and 
flows by spirts of considerable force, it is from an artery. To stop 
it, pressure should be made over the course of the artery above 
the wound, or on the side of it that is toward the heart. If the 
blood is of a dark color, and flows regularly and without much 
force, it proceeds from a vein, and pressure must be made on the 
side of the wound away from the heart, or toward the extremity 
of the body. Pressure is made by using a compress consisting of 
a towel doubled up in a compact form, and held down by a 
bandage. A physician should always be called to treat a wound 
of considerable size, and he should be consulted in all cases where 
unpleasant symptoms follow even a small wound. 



PART III. 



MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES; 

OK, 

MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEUTICS. 

BEING A PRACTICAL SETTING FOETH OF 

THE NATURE AND VALUE 



THE MEDICINES AND MEDICINAL ARTICLES 
IN GENERAL USE, 

INCLUDING 

THEIR APPLICATION IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE, AND THE ABUSES TO 

WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED IN POPULAK 

AND GENERAL PRACTICE. 



PART III. 
DRUGS, MEDICINES, AND REMEDIAL AGENTS. 



PURCHASING MEDICINES, AND USING AND KEEPING 
THEM IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 

This part of the present volume is devoted to the consideration 
of those things, be they drugs or other agents, which have proved 
to be of value in the treatment of disease. The author has not 
deemed it essential to dwell upon the botanical history of plants, 
the chemical composition of drugs, or to describe the processes 
employed in the manufacture of chemicals, or in compounding 
medicines. 

The most important facts connected with medicines, after all, 
relate to the good which can be accomplished in the various uses 
to which they are applied. This is a practical age, and people 
are disposed to take things as they find them. Without consid- 
ering past experience or primary details, they aim at practical 
results. 

The sick do not care where medicines are obtained, nor who 
compounds them, and they take but little interest in the shape in 
which they are dispensed ; the paramount problem with them is, 
to obtain the remedies best calculated to cure their diseases. 

Unless a family lives a considerable distance from a drug store 
or a physician, it is not a good plan to keep much medicine in the 
house. To be of value, medicines of all kinds must be of standard 
strength and in perfect condition, and, as a rule, it is best to pro- 
cure them fresh from the druggist as needed. Laudanum and 
iodine and some other tinctures become too strong if long kept. 
Many others lose their medicinal virtue; oils become rancid; 
powders change in many ways, and pills become so dry and hard 
that they are insoluble in the stomach. When any of these 
changes take place in medicines they are unfit for use. 

413 ' 



414 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Many people imagine that if they purchase crude drugs, roots, 
herbs, etc., at a drug store, and manufacture them into medicines 
at home, they save money thereby, and secure a better article than 
they could otherwise obtain. In this they are mistaken. The 
most unreliable goods in a drug store are roots, herbs, and crude 
articles. Elixirs, fluid extracts, and other manufactured pharma- 
ceuticals of the drug store, are incomparably superior in every 
respect to crude articles ; and when the druggist compounds a 
mixture, if he is an honest, competent man, he furnishes a much 
more reliable compound than can possibly be secured by domestic 
manipulations. To extract the virtues of a drug requires no little 
skill. Some drugs require heat for this purpose ; others are ren- 
dered worthless by it ; alcohol alone dissolves the important ingre- 
dients of some articles, while water is required for others ; sugar 
disguises the unpleasant taste of some medicines ; aromatics are 
required for others ; and certain specific flavors are required to 
render others palatable. Some medicines act better in liquid form, 
some should be given in powder, wdiile others act best when ad- 
ministered in pills. There are many things connected with the 
drug business which are " easy enough if one knows how," yet 
entirely beyond the skill of those not trained in the art of com- 
pounding medicines. 

A medicine should not be continued after the disease, or the 
symptom for which it was prescribed, has been relieved or cured. 
Most prescriptions are written to cure present conditions, and are 
not intended to meet the future symptoms and complications of a 
case of illness. Because a medicine seems to act admirably for 
the purpose intended, is no reason for thinking it is good for 
everything. Unless the physician so instructs, a prescription 
should not be refilled and continued for a great length of time ; 
as a medicine exactly appropriate at one time may at another 
time be just the opposite of w r hat is needed. An effort to enlarge 
upon the utility of mixtures and medicines generally, beyond 
their real indications, has done a great deal of harm. 

The directions accompanying medicines should always be 
strictly followed. It is always the aim in prescribing medicines 
to produce certain definite results, and taking too much or too 
little should be avoided ; neither should the doses be taken more 
often than ordered. Some persons are apt to imagine that if 
moderate doses will impart some benefit, larger doses will do more 
good, and they will increase the quantity in order to get well in a 
hurry. Much mischief has resulted from such thoughtlessness. 



DOMESTIC MEDICINE MEASURES. 415 

Medicines should never be drank from the bottle, nor the dose 
guessed at, as such a practice is sure to vary greatly from what is 
intended. 

Take good care of medicines ; keep all bottles corked, all pow- 
ders well wrapped, and everything out of the reach of children. 
Never use anything but cork, rubber, or glass stoppers ; twisted 
rags, corn-cobs, and rolls of paper should not be used for such 
purposes. 

Medicines should not be left exposed to the air. The practice 
of mixing medicines in a tumbler of water and allowing them to 
stand exposed in the sick-room, is a bad one; in such cases the 
water absorbs the impurities from the atmosphere, many sub- 
stances rapidly lose their virtue when so exposed, and there is 
always danger of drinking such mixtures by mistake for a glass 
of water. A much better plan consists in mixing the desired 
remedies in bottles of suitable size, and keeping them securely 
corked. 

Always have medicines put in bottles of suitable size and shape. 
Bottles representing pigs, elephants, shoes, etc., were never intended 
for medicines, and it always tends to affect the pride of a druggist 
to dispense his goods in such inappropriate vials. It is never 
advisable to put a medicine in a bottle entirely too large to hold 
it, as evaporation always takes place, and the strength of the 
contents is changed thereby. In some instances the strength is 
increased, in others it is entirely destroyed. Druggists, as a rule, 
charge cost only for bottles, and if a suitable one is not found a 
new one should invariably be obtained, especially for medicines 
intended for internal use. 



DOMESTIC MEDICINE MEASURES. 

One drop is considered equal to one raimim ( rr\, j). 



One teaspoonful 
One dessertspoonful 
One tablespoonful 
One wineglassful 
One teacupful 



one drachm (3j) 
two drachms (§\j). 
one-half ounce f ? ss). 
two ounces (5*.))- 
four ounces ( 5 iv). 



As neither drops, spoons, glasses, nor teacups, are of uniform 
size, the above table is far from accurate. 

A minim is always the same — one-sixtieth of a drachm — and 
almost exactly the size of a drop of water; but drops of many 



416 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

liquids are much smaller. Much also depends upon the shape of 
the bottle from which the liquid is dropped. A medicine dropper 
is the best instrument to insure accuracy in dropping medicines. 
When a dropper is not at hand, the contents of a bottle may be 
easily dropped by pressing the cork against the mouth of the 
bottle and allowing the contents to slowly flow down the side of 
the cork and drop from the lower edge. 

Spoons of all kinds are of variable size, and their contour does 
not admit of accuracy as instruments for measuring. 

Graduated medicine glasses, for sale at all drug stores, are accurate, 
and should always be used in measuring doses. Spoons, being of 
metal, are entirely unsuited for measuring acid or corroding sub- 
stances. Wineglasses are seldom found at the present day in the 
household, but they are often named in directions; a two-ounce 
bottle may be used instead. Teacups are supposed to hold one- 
fourth pint, but most of those used are much larger. They are 
used, however, to measure weak decoctions or infusions, and a 
slight variation in the size of the dose is of small importance. 



DOSES ACCORDING TO AGE. 

Taking an adult dose as the standard : — 

Children under 1 year require ^ as much. 

Children over 1 year and under 2 years require } as much. 



2 years ' ' 


3 " 


<< I 


3 


5 " 


5 


8 " 


" * 


8 


" 12 " 


" * 


12 


" 20 " 


" § 



The following rule is often used to gauge the dose for children. 
" Add the age to 12 and divide by the age," thus : at 4 years, 
^-^ = \ of an adult dose. 

The following is also very plain : " Add 1 to the following 
birthday and divide by 24 ; " thus : at 1 year, -fa = ^ ; at 2 years, 
2 3 r = s I .at 3 years, ^ = i etc. 

The size and general strength of a child should always be 
considered. 

Persons beyond the age of sixty-five require less medicine than 
those in middle life, and the very aged require greatly diminished 
dories; women require smaller doses than men, and conditions 
peculiar to sex should not be overlooked. 



ACIDS. 417 



ACIDS. 



The Mineral Acids — Muriatic, Nitric, Nitro-Muriatic, 
Sulphuric, and Phosphoric Acids, are but little used in domestic 
practice, yet in the hands of the medical profession they fill an 
important place. 

These acids are sold in two degrees of strength — ■pure and diluted. 
As they are exceedingly poisonous in full strength, it is absolutely 
necessary that those who use them should thoroughly understand 
the preparation they are called upon to handle. 

The following are treated under the strength in which they 
should be used. They should be kept in colored bottles with 
glass stoppers. 

DILUTE MURIATIC ACID. 

Also known as Dilute Hydrochloric Acid, — Acidum Hydro- 
chloricum Dilutum — is an exceedingly useful medicine. It is a 
normal ingredient of the gastric juice. It aids digestion, and is 
often advantageously added to pepsin, gentian, nux-vomica, and 
other tonics. It is of special value in dyspepsia in combination 
with pepsin. 

Muriatic acid should be chosen when an acid is to be admin- 
istered for fevers. It may often be advantageously given in 
malaria, consumption, etc., where there is indigestion, diarrhoea, 
fever, thirst, or torpid liver — symptoms for which dilute muriatic 
acid is very appropriate. In medicine it is often important to 
treat several symptoms with one remedy, for which the above 
complications offer opportunity. 

The dose of Dilute Muriatic Acid is from five to twenty drops 
well diluted with water, and, as it is injurious to the teeth, it 
should be taken through a glass tube. 



NITRO-MURIATIC ACID-Acidum Nitro-Hydrochloricum. 

As this acid does not keep well when diluted, it should be 
procured///// strength, in a colored glass vial, with a glass stopper, 

It is exceedingly poisonous; not even a drop should be allowed 
to fall on the clothing. It will dissolve gold, and for this reason 
is sometimes called Aqua JRcgia. 

The dose is from three to five drops largely diluted with water, 
and should be taken through a glass tube. 
27 



418 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Nitro-Muriatic Acid is an exceptionally valuable medicine. 
Properly used, it is of greater value than any of the other 
mineral acids. 

It has a special action on the liver. When the liver is torpid, 
the skin sallow, the eyes yellow, the tongue furred, and the head 
dull, this acid is indicated. 

Chronic congestion of the liver is often the real seat of much 
that is called dyspepsia, intestinal catarrh, general debility, and 
biliousness. This condition is too often treated by large doses of 
cathartics, or the various nervines advertised, which only make 
matters worse. 

Acidity of the stomach is often completely and permanently cured 
by the use of acids. As a rule, it is better to give the acid before 
meals, when there is acidity in the above cases. 

Like many other medicines, acids generally do more good 
when given in small doses long continued. Three to five drops 
well diluted with water, three times a day, will often do more 
good, and be far more grateful to the stomach than many of the 
patent nostrums. 



DILUTE NITRIC ACID-Acidum Nitricum Dilutum. 

This acid is sometimes taken internally through a tube. Dose, 
from three to ten drops well diluted. A few drops will often 
relieve sudden loss of voice and the hoarseness of speakers and 
singers. 

It is a tonic to the liver, and is much prescribed to clear the urine 
when it deposits a milky, smoky sediment. 

It is a popular remedy for whooping cough, for which purpose a 
teaspoonful of the dilute acid should be put in a tumbler, and 
water added until it is about as sour as lemon juice ; then add 
sugar until it is quite syrupy. 

For a child a year old, a teaspoonful of the above mixture may 
be given every hour. 



STRONG NITRIC ACID. 

This acid, known as Aqua Fortis, is exceedingly powerful. It 
is sometimes used to destroy warts and moles, but it is unfit for 
any one, except a professional, to handle. 

Ten drops in a pint of water may be occasionally used as a wash 
for slow and indolent ulcers. 



ACIDS. 419 



DILUTE PHOSPHORIC ACID-Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum. 

Dilute Phosphoric Acid, taken into the stomach, is perhaps the 
most grateful of the Mineral Acids. It can be taken in larger 
doses, and for a longer time, with less liability of deranging the 
digestion, than any other, and should be selected when an acid is 
to be long continued, as in diabetes. 

Its solvent properties not only make it useful in phosphatic 
deposits in the urine, but ill-conditioned and scrofulous persons are 
often greatly improved by it. 

The Phosphorus in Phosphoric Acid is not set free in the system, 
and should not be given when the specific effect of phosphorus 
only is wanted. It is not a " brain-food " directly, yet by aiding 
the digestion, and improving the general health, it is capable of 
doing great good. 

Dose, ten to thirty drops, largely diluted and sweetened. 

Horsford's Acid Phosphate, a well-known proprietary article, is 
much abused by those who advertise it, as well as by those who take 
it. It is a solution of lime, magnesia, potash, and iron, with free 
phosphoric acid. It should be taken in small doses — a half-tea- 
spoonful in a tumbler of water sweetened. It is a delightful 
drink, and a medicine of real merit. It is, however, as a rule, 
taken in entirely too large doses. 

As dispensed from the soda fountain, it often acts injuriously. 
Clerks will frequently squirt into a glass of soda, two or three 
teaspoonfuls, turning what might be an exceedingly pleasant and 
healthy draught into a sour and unwholesome mixture, irritating 
to the membrane of the stomach. Many druggists are in the 
habit of substituting dilute acid of various strengths, when acid 
phosphate is called for. I have for years sold Acid Phosphate Soda 
from the fountain, and have always used Horsford's. When 
given in proper quantity it is both agreeable to the taste, and 
grateful to the stomach. 



AROMATIC SULPHURIC ACID-Acidum Sulphuricum Aromatlcum. 

This article, also known as Elixir of Vitriol, is a reddish-brown 
liquid, witli an aromatic odor, and pleasant acid taste, and may 
be used wherever sulphuric acid is indicated. 

As it is somewhat constringent in its effect, the Aromatic Sul- 
phuric Acid is well adapted to the treatment of fevers with flushed 
face, hot skin, dry tongue, diarrhoea, hemorrhage, or profuse 
sweats. 



420 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

It is a standard remedy in chronic diarrhoea. Morphia may be 
combined with it when much pain exists. 

It has been used in lead colic, both acute and chronic. While 
it may benefit the acute variety, the chronic form is better reme- 
died by other drugs. 

The dose is from ten to twenty drops, well diluted. In fevers, 
it is sometimes best to give it well diluted with water in the form 
of acidulated drinks. 

As it is injurious to the teeth, it is best to take it through a tube, 
and rinse the mouth afterwards. 

The ordinary Sulphuric Acid or Oil of Vitriol of commerce, 
is a heavy syrupy liquid largely used for manufacturing purposes. 



ACID BATHS. 

Acid baths are a recognized form of administering acids, and I 
know of nothing which I can, from personal experience, more 
heartily recommend than bathing with acid. One-fourth ounce 
of Nitro-muriatic acid added to a quart of water in a washbowl, is 
proper strength. 

A portion of the body should be sponged with it, and then 
dried with friction, and then another portion, until in this way, 
the whole body is gone over. By sponging only a small surface 
at a time, and applying friction liberally, there will be no chill- 
ing even if cold water is used. The immediate effect is refreshing, 
and the gradual effect on the general health most happy. 

The following is a more effectual way of applying the acid 
externally : Wring out a large piece of spongio-piline or of cotton 
flannel (several layers) in a lotion of a strength varying, according 
to the irritability of the patient's skin, from one to three fluid 
drachms to the pint of water. Apply this over the right side at 
the lower edge of the ribs, covering it with a piece of oiled silk 
supported by a bandage. 

The application sometimes causes a prickling sensation, and 
after a time may produce a profuse local sweating. It may be 
left on from one-half hour to one hour, and be repeated three 
or four times a day. Some persons can wear it almost con- 
stantly. 

In handling this acid, the use of metal spoons and tin vessels 
should be avoided. 

Nitro-muriatic acid is extremely poisonous and will destroy 
the skin or clothing and must be handled with care. 



ACID BATHS. 421 



CHROMIC ACID— Acidum Chromicum. 

This article occurs in purplish-red crystals. It is used exclus- 
ively as a caustic, applied with the end of a glass rod. It is too 
powerful a caustic for any one but a physician to handle. 



CITRIC ACID-Acidum Citricum. 

Citric Acid is sold in the stores in small transparent crystals. 

It is found in the lime, lemon, cranberry, currant, strawberry, 
raspberry, and tamarind. 

It is not used in medicine, except in the manufacture of various 
preparations. 

In strong solution it will remove rust stains from linen, and is 
sold by some druggists when " Lemon Salts " are called for. 

When lemons cannot be procured, artificial lemonade may be 
made by acidulating water with it, and adding sugar which has 
previously been rubbed with lemon peel ; or it may be flavored 
with essence of lemon. One ounce of the acid is sufficient to 
make three or four gallons of lemonade. But this is inferior to 
the genuine article. 



PRUSSIC ACID— Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum. 

Prussic Acid is sold in the form of Dilute Hydrocyanic Acid, and 
is an exceedingly dangerous poison. The presence of this acid 
gives the bitter taste to almonds, peach kernels, peach leaves, wild 
cherry bark, etc. 

The dilute acid is scarcely ever given alone. 

Added to other medicines it quiets nervous irritability, and is 
useful in asthma, whooping-cough, and other spasmodic affections. 
It is often prescribed with singular benefit in the cough of habit. 

A dilution of twenty or thirty drops in one ounce of rose water 
is sometimes used for nervous headache, and for itching diseases 
of the skin. 

The dose of the dilute acid is one or two drops, but it is abso- 
lutely unfit for unprofessional hands. 

Cyanide op Potash occurs in whitish, broken, heavy lumps ; 
it is used by photographers, and is sometimes placed in bottles 
with bugs, butterflies, etc., to kill them. It is an exceedingly 
deadly poison, 

Oil of Bitter Almonds is a very poisonous substance, and 
should never be used, except by the druggist in compounding 
medicines. 



422 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Essence of Bitter Almonds is used as a cooking extract in the 
household. It should be procured from the druggist, as that sold 
by grocers is usually of inferior quality. 



TARTARIC ACID-Acidum Tartaricum. 

This acid is sold in the stores as a white powder. It is soluble 
in water, and of a very sour taste. 

As it is cheaper in price than citric acid, it is more often used 
in making artificial lemonade. When so employed enough pure 
lemon must be added to impart a flavor. 

Thirty-five grains of tartaric acid and fort} 1, grains of bicar- 
bonate of soda, stirred together in a tumbler of water, will exactly 
neutralize each other, and make quite a pleasant and cooling 
draught. 



TINCTURE OF ACONiTE. 

Aconitum Napettus, Monkshood, or Wolfsbane, is indigenous to 
Europe, but is cultivated in this country. The tincture is the only 
preparation in general use. Tablets and triturates, medicated 
with aconite, are a part of the supplies of every physician. 

Aconite in every form is a deadly 2-oison, when used in over- 
doses. On account of this fact, it should be procured in small 
quantities, and contained in a vial of different shape and color 
from other remedies. 

It is given in nearly all kinds of diseases where fever and rapid 
pulse are symptoms. In recent colds, incipient neuralgia, and 
rheumatism, it is one of the most reliable remedies we have. In 
catarrhal and throat affections, in fact in all diseases attended with 
high pulse, dry, hot skin, and elevated temperature, aconite is the 
chief reliance of the medical profession. If carefully used it is 
well adapted to the treatment of the fevers of childhood. 

The dose of Tincture of Aconite for an adult is from one to five 
drops repeated every two or three hours as necessary. It acts 
best when given in small doses frequently repeated. If sixteen 
drops are dropped into a bottle, and sixteen teaspoonfuls of water 
added, each spoonful will contain one drop of the tincture; one 
teaspoonful of this mixture may be given to an adult every half 
hour or hour, or ten or fifteen drops of this mixture may be given 
to a child two years of age. Those who are frail or exhausted, 
bear aconite badly, and it should never be given to such unless 
prescribed by a physician ; and when so prescribed, it should not 



ALCOHOL. 423 

be continued after the symptoms for which it was given have 
subsided. 



ALCOHOL. 

There are five kinds of alcohol sold in the stores. 

Ordinary, or Ninety-five Per Cent. Alcohol. 

Deodorized Alcohol, commonly called Cologne Spirits. 

Wood Alcohol, and Denatured Alcohol. Both poisonous. 

Dilute Alcohol, made by adding an equal quantity of water 
to the Ordinary Alcohol. 

The Ordinary is used almost exclusively, but the Deodorized is 
to be preferred for medicinal and toilet purposes. Alcohol is the 
active principle in Whiskey, Brandy, Gin, Wine, Beer, Ale, Porter, 
and Cider. These articles are considered under Alcoholic Stimu- 
lants. 

Alcohol possesses a wide range of application. As it burns 
without smoke, it is used by the druggist, and in the family, for 
heating small quantities. Alcohol lamps or " stoves " of various 
designs may be procured of the druggist. Alcohol is used to a 
great extent in the manufacture of medicines and toilet prepara- 
tions to hold substances in solution and prevent fermentation. 
As it is a local as well as a systemic stimulant, it is often added, 
for its own individual effect, in various liniments. 

Alcohol is a narcotic irritant and poison, and a cerebral excitant 
and depressant. 

It is an excellent tooth-wash, and as a gargle for sore throat, 
whether common or diphtheritic ; for these purposes it should be 
diluted with four parts of water. Bed sores and sore nipples are 
prevented by bathing the parts with it. Mixed with white of egg 
it forms a good coating for bed sores. A person who expects to 
use crutches, will do well to bathe the armpits with alcohol in 
advance, as it hardens the skin. 

Excessive sweating of the hands and feet is prevented by bathing 
frequently with alcohol. Diluted with one part of water, it is an 
excellent dressing for bruises, inflamed joints, and suppurating 
wounds ; and as a general toilet wash in exhausted conditions, its effect 
is exceedingly grateful. 

Florida Water, Bay Rum, and other toilet washes, owe much 
of their virtue to the alcohol they contain. 

Some one has said that " one application of alcohol, well rubbed 
in for five minutes, will cure the itch." Its external use cannot 
cause any harm. It is an effectual application to the hair and 
scalp, to destroy head lice. 



424 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



ALCOHOLIC STIMULANTS. 

This group of stimulants comprises those articles which are 
used in the treatment of disease on account of the alcohol they 
contain ; the chief of which are the following : — 

Whiskey, made from rye, corn or barley, containing 50 to 60 % of alcohol. 

Brandy, " " grapes, " 50 to 60 % " " 

Gin, made from rye, or barley and juniper, " 40 to 50 % " " 

Eum, " " sugar or molasses, " 40 to 50 % " " 

Wine, " " grapes, " 8 to 26 % " " 

Champagne, made from grapes, " 10 to 15 % " " 
Beek, Ale and Porter, made from malted 

grain and hops, " 2 to 8 % " " 

Cider, made from apples, " to 10 % " " 

A discussion of these agents from almost any standpoint would 
prove interesting. Their use as remedies to palliate and cure 
disease has formed no small part of the history of medicine. 

A little more than two centuries ago, when the treatment of 
disease was dictated by dogmatic teachers led by superstition and 
error, there appeared, in the city of Edinburgh, a physician by 
the name of John Brown, who declared that all disease, no 
matter of what nature, was the result of debility, and that for this 
condition there was one sovereign remedy, namely, alcoholic stimu- 
lants. As this idea was more easily comprehended by the people 
than those ideas advanced by former teachers, it was readily 
adopted. Indeed, the universal philosophy of the times seemed 
to coincide rather than conflict with this theor} r , and it went like 
wild-fire over the continent of Europe. John Brown, its origi- 
nator and champion, was appointed physician to the largest 
hospital in the world at that time, and we are told that ninety- 
seven per cent, of the cases of sickness were dosed with alcoholic 
liquors. It was the panacea of almost the entire category of 
human ailments. The craze was exceedingly popular, and not 
until it reached Italy did it find any decided opposition. Here, 
a physician by the name of Risori, while he accepted much of 
the philosophy of John Brown, declared that disease was not 
debility, but that it was due to over-excitation, and that not 
stimulants, but their opposite, was needed. Then came the age 
of depressing medicines — the drastic purge, the emetic, the 
exhaustive bleeding, the heroic sweat, and the persistent star- 
vation. The people were willing victims of this regime for a 
season, and it spread all over the world. During its reign it was 
a calamity to be sick. While the carrying out of this idea, which 
is the most prominent in the history of medicine, was waging a 



ALCOHOLIC STIMULANTS. 425 

cruel war with disease, various theories sprung up, among them 
Homeopathy with its small doses, and the still less pronounced 
idea of Expectancy, which consisted in simply waiting, or absolute 
nothingness. But to return to John Brown and his stewardship 
of the great hospital; history tells us that during his administra- 
tion the death-rate was larger than that of any other plan of 
treatment ever adopted for the same class of patients 

These methods had a large following, and their influence still 
lives. Beginning with Dr. Benjamin Rush, more than a century 
ago, the most advanced portion of the medical profession has been 
endeavoring to curtail, within legitimate limits, the use of alco- 
holic liquors in medicine ; but it has proved a Herculean task, as 
the effort has been thwarted by the powerful influence of the 
drink habit. Beginning with Dr. Graves, of England (whose 
monument alludes to the fact), the use of depressing agencies has 
been discouraged ; yet, notwithstanding the fact that these so- 
called remedies are revolting, it has taken a long time to win their 
followers to a better way. 

All of these dogmas or theories — Stimulation, Depletion, Nothing- 
ness — or medical skepticism — have had their conquests and 
defeats, and upon the medical faith and practice of the present 
day still lingers some remnant of these waves of deluding fancy. 
They may, in some way, have blessed the age in which they 
thrived, but the most wholesome influence they can exert upon 
the present or future generation is to be gained by regarding them 
as specimens of popular delusions and human folly. 

But to the subject of stimulants: While their use at the present 
day is a remnant of past opinions, their influence is so fascina- 
ting, that mankind is accustomed to accord to them a range of 
application far beyond that which they deserve. Unless the vital 
forces are below the normal, stimulants are never needed, and in 
all cases of disease the dose should never be large enough to pro- 
duce the stimulating effect so apparent when given to healthy 
individuals. A strict adherence to the above rule would confine 
their use to very narrow limits. 

There is a point in regard to the effects of alcoholic liquors 
which most people overlook, namely : that they act in two ways, 
as a medicine and as a stimulant. They cease to be a medicine 
as soon as they begin to act as a stimulant. When the patient 
feels their intoxicating or stimulating effect, they are acting 
beyond their legitimate sphere aa a medicine, and in such cases 
invariably do mischief. Like all other medicines they are always 
harmful when swallowed by a healthy person, and under no cir- 
cumstances is the prolonged or habitual use of stimulants to be 



426 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

recommended. Like opium, chloral, and other nervines, they are 
entirely unsuUed to popular use. The careless and promiscuous use 
of liquors in professional and domestic practice, cannot be too 
strongly condemned. 

The physician who, in his lifetime, stood at the head of Ameri- 
can medicine, said a few years ago in a public address :* "As phy- 
sicians, we cannot ignore the fact that it (Alcohol) is the article 
of the Materia Medica direst of all when it escapes the bounds of 
medical necessity. It is the medicine which is most prone to 
overleap all barriers, and so often glides into the sphere of lustful 
appetite, that it numbers its victims by thousands within the pale 
of inebriety, and by tens of thousands beyond it. 

" But when I come to know that the remedy itself is under trial 
as a remedy at all, that equally efficient substitutes are claimed, 
that the so-called self-infliction is so infatuating that it proves a 
swift delusion to many of the wisest and the best, both my pro- 
fession and my manhood require me to bring it to the most rigid 
test of necessity." 

The conclusions reached by summarizing the transactions of 
the International Medical Congress, held in Philadelphia in 1876, 
are tabulated as follows, and they well express the convictions of 
the leaders in the realm of medicine in this country to-day. 
Alcohol here refers to alcoholic liquors : — 

1. "Alcohol is not shown to have a definite food value b}' any 
of the usual methods of chemical analysis or physiological investi- 
gation. 

2. " Its use as a medicine is chiefly that of a cardiac stimulant, 
and often admits of substitution. 

3. " As a medicine it is not well-fitted for self-prescription by 
the laity, and the medical profession is not accountable for such 
administration, or for the enormous evils arising therefrom. 

4. " The purity of alcoholic liquors is, in general, not as well 
assured as that of articles used for medicine should be. The 
various mixtures when used as medicine should have definite 
and known composition, and should not be interchanged pro- 
miscuously." 

The concluding summary of Dr. Richardson's celebrated lectures 
on alcohol f deals with this subject in the following language : — 

" This chemical substance, alcohol, an artificial product devised 
by man for his purpose, and in many things that lie outside of his 

* Dr. Austin Flint. An address before the American Medical Association. 

f On Alcohol. Six Cantor Lectures, delivered before the Society of Arts, by 
Benjamin W. Richardson, M.A., M.D., F.E.S. 



ALOES. 427 

organism a useful substance, is neither a food nor a drink suitable 
for his natural demands. Its application as an agent that shall 
enter the living organization is properly limited by the learning 
and skill possessed by the physician — a learning that itself admits 
of being recast and revised in many important details, and 
perhaps in principles." 

" If this agent does really for the moment cheer the weary, and 
impart a flush of transient pleasure to the unwearied who crave 
for mirth, its influence (doubted even in these modest and 
moderate degrees), is an infinitesimal advantage by the side of an 
infinity of evil for which there is no compensation, and no human 
cure." 

ANTITOXIN. 

In 1891 Behring discovered antitoxin and established its pre- 
ventive and curative powers. Its greatest success has been in the 
treatment of diphtheria, its value in preventing and curing this 
disease being recognized all over the world. Antitoxin is an 
animal product prepared at laboratories fitted up for the purpose. 
It is supplied in one dose packages of various strengths, ready to 
use. Its use belongs entirely to the medical profession. 

Its value in diphtheria is so recognized that in many localities 
it is furnished free to the poor at public expense. It is used not 
only to cure diphtheria but to prevent the disease among children 
who have been exposed to its contagion. When reliable makes 
are employed unpleasant effects from its use are extremely few. 

Antitoxins are also prepared to prevent or cure tetanus, rabies, 
spinal-meningitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, typhoid 
fever, erysipelas, bubonic plague, cholera, dysentery, etc. Of these 
the most used are for tetanus and rabies. As a preventive, anti- 
typhoid vaccination is proving to be a great success. Its use is 
being enforced in our army and the results show that typhoid 
fever can be prevent <d almost as effectually as small-pox. Per- 
haps no field of research has done more or promises more than 
the perfecting of the use of antitoxins in preventing and curing 
the long list of toxic diseases. 

ALOES. 

There are three principal varieties of Aloes in the market. 

1. Cape Aloes; '2. Socotrine Aloes ; 3. Jhnhadoes Aloes. 

The first is used chiefly in veterinary practice, and the other 
varieties in medicine. Socotrine aloes is the best for medicinal 
purposes, and should be the purified. Much of that sold in drug 
stores as such, is only selected specimens of the other kinds. 



428 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Aloes is generally in the form of a dark powder, with an 
extremely bitter taste. Unless a druggist is careful in handling 
it, the customer at the counter will taste the fine dust that arises 
from it, while it is being weighed. 

Aloes is an exceedingly valuable medicine, when properly used. 
In small doses it is tonic, and improves the appetite and digestion. 

In that dyspeptic condition, accompanied with constipation, a 
torpid liver, coated tongue, dull feeling, headache, foul breath, 
and melancholy, commonly called the " blues," aloes should 
always be tried. 

There has been much said and written in regard to the effect 
aloes has in causing and curing piles. Years ago it was consid- 
ered that it caused piles, but now it enjoys quite a reputation as a 
cure for this disease. 

Aloes is very slow in its action, and its force is largely on the 
lower bowel. 

When p>iles are the result of a relaxed condition of these parts, 
it is but good logic that aloes will prove serviceable. 

Simple jaundice will generally yield to the use of aloes. 

In disorders of the menses, especially amenorrhea, aloes is a 
popular remedy. 

A tea made of aloes is a good injection for seat luorms. 

The following are the principal preparations : — 

Pills of Aloes (aloes two grains, soap two grains). Dose, one to five. 

Pills of Aloes and Asafoetida (aloes, asafcetida, and soap). Dose, 
two to five. 

Lady Webster Pills (aloes, mastic, and red rose). Dose, one to two. 

Pills of Aloes and Myrrh. Dose, five to ten grains. 

Tincture of Aloes. Dose, one-half to two teaspoonfuls. 

Hiecra Picra (" Hickory Pickory," Aloes and Canella). Dose, 
five to twenty grains. 



ALOIN. 

This is a principle derived from aloes, and is much used by the 
medical profession, yet opinions in regard to its virtues are widely 
apart. I think it will largely supersede the coarser preparations 
of aloes, as they are so extremely bitter. The dose of Aloin is about 
one grain, generally given in combinations. 

Aloin, belladonna and strychnia, in pill form, form a most excel- 
lent combination, and may be procured ready-made into pills at 
any drug store. 

These pills, taken in simply laxative doses, are far superior to 



ALUM. 429 

the purging process which has attended the use of patent pills 
for many years. Purging will always fail to permanently relieve 
constipation ; but mild laxative doses will often overcome the 
habit. 



ALUM— Alumen. 

Alum is sold in stores in Lump, in Powder, and as Dried Alum, 
commonly called Burnt Alum. 

It is used for various purposes as a medicine, being astringent, 
emetic, and, under certain conditions, laxative. A teaspoonful of 
powdered alum, mixed with honey or syrup, repeated every half 
hour, until vomiting occurs, is a standard treatment for croup. It 
dislodges the false membrane, and seems to prevent its reforma- 
tion. It is used with success in lead colic ; indeed, by many it is 
considered the very best remedy for this disease. " It relieves the 
pain and nausea, and overcomes the constipation more certainly 
than any other remedy." It is also used in chronic diarrhoea, 
hemorrhages, and in night sweats, but not to any extent. 

Alum is used in various affections of the mouth, and as a gargle 
for sore throat. Ulcers of the mouth are cured by being touched 
with crystal alum. Burnt alum is a popular remedy for "proud 



Alum curd is a splendid application for inflamed eyes. It is made 
by rubbing thirty grains of alum with the white of an egg, or 
curdling the egg by rubbing it with a lump of alum in a plate. 

Alum is put with flour by bakers, to ivhiten bread, but it is an 
objectionable custom. 

Alum dissolved in pure, soft water, is a good wash for inflamed 
eyes; an even teaspoonful to a tumbler of water is sufficiently 
strong. 

As a gargle, a half ounce or more may be dissolved in a pint of 
water, and sweetened with honey. As alum is injurious to the 
teeth, it should not be used in mouth washes and gargles, unless 
its use is imperative, and the teeth thoroughly rinsed after- 
ward. 

If other remedies are not at hand, a strong solution of alum may 
be used externally to stop local hemorrhages from wounds, or in nose 
bleed, bleeding of the gums, or bleeding piles. 

Alum whey is made by boiling one-fourth ounce of alum in a 
pinl of milk, and straining to separate the curd. Dose, two table- 
spoonfuls. This is an excellent form in which to administer 
alum. 



430 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Bathing in alum-water at bed-time will often stop night sweats 
of consumptive patients, and restore the tone of the skin. 



AMMONIA. 

Ammonia is a gaseous compound of nitrogen and hydrogen 
(NH 3 ), and when passed into water it forms the Aqua Ammonia, 
or " Hartshorn " of the drug store. It is made of varying 
strength, and as it is apt to lose the gas by exposure, it may 
become very weak if kept long. 

It is a colorless liquid, very irritating to the nose and lungs, 
and a powerful irritant poison if taken internally in over doses. 
Death has occurred from inhaling it. Its chief use in medicine is 
in the compounding of liniments, to which it adds counter- 
irritant qualities. 

Ammonia Liniment, or Hartshorn Liniment, is made by 
mixing aqua ammonia with cotton-seed oil, and is frequently used 
as an application for sore throat, pectoral affections, and rheu- 
matism. 

Aqua Ammonia, either pure or diluted, is one of the best appli- 
cations for mosquito bites and the stings of insects. 

When a person feels faint, a few drops may be dropped upon a 
handkerchief and held to the nose; but a bottle of ammonia 
should never be held to the nose of any one, as death has resulted 
from the inhalation of this article. 

When inhaled as above, or in the form of " smelling salts" it will 
greatly relieve some forms of headache. Applied to a " cold sore " 
it will destroy the unhealthy condition and promote a rapid cure. 

If those who perspire freely would use a little ammonia in the 
bathing water every day, it would keep the flesh clean and sweet, 
doing away with disagreeable odor. A few drops added to the 
water used in washing the face and hands, not only renders the 
water soft and more cleansing, but, if sparingly used, the skin is 
thereb}' - rendered more soft and pliable. 

It softens water, and is rapidly coming into use as a household 
article for cleansing purposes. 

Grease spots, paint, acid stains, and oil, are removed from 
fabrics of various sorts by its use. 

Brass, silver, nickel, and glass, are polished by rubbing with a 
cloth saturated with ammonia. 

Spots in calico or other cloth, occasioned by an acid, may be 
restored by touching the spots with ammonia. 



AMMONIA. 431 



AROMATIC SPIRITS OF AMMONIA-Spiritus Ammoniae Aromat- 

icus. 

Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia should not be confounded with 
" Ammonia," " Aqua Ammonia," or with Spirits of Ammonia. 

It is an altogether different preparation, nearly colorless when 
fresh, but turning darker by age ; with an aromatic, ammoniacal 
smell and taste. It is intended for internal use; the others are 
not. 

It is an excellent antacid and stimulant, especially adapted to the 
relief of sick headache. When a temporary stimulant is needed to 
prevent fainting, it will be found useful. 

Some persons get into the habit of asking druggists to put a 
dose of Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia into a glass of soda water, 
when suffering with headache, acidity, and indigestion. I am 
sure this is a bad practice. The benefit is only temporary. A 
drink of clear, plain soda water, to which no objection can be 
raised, will generally answer the purpose fully as well. 

In low states of the system, where heart failure is threatened, 
small doses of Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia are to be preferred to 
whiskey or brandy. 



CARBONATE OF AMMONIA. 

Carbonate of Ammonia, sometimes called Lump Ammonia, 
occurs in hard, transparent crystals or lumps, smells strongly of 
ammonia, and has a pungent ammonia taste. When long kept, 
or when exposed to the air for a short time, it turns white and 
crumbles into a white powder, in which condition it is worthless. 
It should be kept in air-tight vessels. 

Carbonate of Ammonia is much used by bakers to improve the 
appearance of bread, but is injurious to its quality. It is some- 
times dissolved in water, and the solution used instead of " Aqua 
Ammonia " to soften water for washing, which, however, is not an 
economical plan. In medicine it is used as a stimulant in low 
conditions, and to excite various secretions, especially of the lungs 
in pneumonia and bronchitis. It has been used with much success 
in scarlet fever. As a medicine it belongs entirely to professiona) 
practice. 

Carbonate of Ammonia is the base of many stimulating " smell- 
ing salts." 



432 v MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



CHLORIDE OF AMMONIA-Ammonii Chloridum-Muriate of Ammo- 
nia— Sal Ammoniac. 

Purified granular, or powdered Chloride of Ammonia, is much 
used b}^ physicians as a resolvent, or, to use a word better under- 
stood, dissolvent alterative. It produces a destructive change of 
unhealthy deposits in the system, and it has a special tendency to 
affect the mucous membranes ; hence it is much used in cough 
medicines, in chronic bronchitis, catarrh, and in chronic congestion, 
and torpor of the liver. 

There is a great prevalence of morbid conditions of the throat, 
bronchial tubes, lungs, viscera, liver, and other organs, which are 
due, probably, to improper eating, faulty hygiene, and irregular 
habits. These conditions call for an agent to carry them off by 
its dissolvent power, and by stimulating the various excretory 
organs. If Chloride of Ammonia will do this, it fills an important 
place in the list of drugs. 

Chloride of Ammonia is used for its local effect in catarrh and 
sore throat. Troches, containing two grains each, can be procured 
at drug stores. 

The inhaling bottle, containing a mixture of ammonia, over 
which is suspended a small vial containing muriatic acid, forms 
Chloride of Ammonia in the form of white fumes that arise. 
These fumes are breathed with great benefit in chronic catarrh. 
The apparatus can be procured at any drug store, and it is an 
effective way of relieving many cases of nasal catarrh. 

When taken internally, the dose is from five to twenty grains, well 
diluted, three times a day. Chloride of Ammonia often acts like 
magic in relieving some forms of neuralgia, especially of the face; 
for which purpose 160 grains may be dissolved in one ounce of 
water, and a teaspoonful taken every half hour in half a tumbler 
of water. Unless relief is afforded after a few doses are taken, the 
remedy is not appropriate to the case, and should be abandoned. 
If successful, it should be taken two or three times a day for a 
week. 

It acts on the liver with decided force, and in cases of " torpid 
liver," attended with a catarrhal condition of the bile ducts, and 
jaundice, bad taste in the mouth, and furred tongue, chloride of 
ammonia will be found specially useful. For such cases ten 
grains should be taken three times a day. 

In Chronic bronchial catarrh, and chronic bronchitis, especially 
when the expectoration is scantj r and tough, it will be found very 
useful. In such cases two to five grains may be taken several times 
a day. 



COAL-TAR PRODUCTS. 433 

One or two ounces to the pint of water make a very refrigerat- 
ing and stimulating lotion to feverish swellings, sprains, and 
inflamed joints. 



ALKALINE ANTISEPTIC— Liquor Antisepticus Alkalinus. 

Many years ago "Listerine" was placed upon the market as an 
antiseptic dressing, gargle, mouth wash and inhalant. It was fol- 
lowed hy other similar preparations and the list is now a long one. 
Every druggist makes Alkaline Antiseptic Solution, containing 
ten ingredients and is an excellent mouth wash, gargle and spray- 
ing mixture for the nose and throat. Mixed with peroxide of 
hydrogen a most efficient combination results. If people would 
purchase Alkaline Antiseptic Solution by the pint and keep it in 
the home it would be found useful in many ways, not only as above 
specified, but as a wash for itching and irritable' shin affections, 
sunburn, painful feet, for abrasions of the skin and as a general 
toilet liquid for the face and hands. It is soothing, neutralizing 
and healing. It should be labeled by druggists with adequate 
directions. 



ANTIPYRINE. 

ANTIFEBRIN. 

ACETANILID. 

PHENACETIN. 

HYPNAL. 

EXALGIN. 

These substances, the list of which might be extended, I shall 
not endeavor to describe. They are made from coal-tar, and have 
drifted into general favor with the profession. These drugs are, 
no doubt, useful in the hands of careful physicians — we say careful, 
because physicians should not prescribe them indiscriminately. 
Under certain conditions they have the power to relieve headache 
and nervous disturbances, and to modify high temperatures and 
produce sleep. They possess characteristics which render them 
peculiarly treacherous drugs in the hands of the people ; they 
are " edged tools," and are capable of doing much mischief. In 
some localities it is becoming somewhat common for people to 

28 



434 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

purchase these drugs, and take full doses over the drug counter, to 
relieve nervousness, headache, etc. This practice is open to the 
strongest condemnation. The question may be asked : Why are 
they dangerous ? Because they are powerful heart depressants, 
and when a person is very weak, or liable to heart failure, their 
use is always attended with more or less danger. They have 
become popular remedies for La Grippe, and as the heart is often 
greatly depressed in this disease, it can be surmised that the care- 
less use of these agents has increased rather than lessened the 
death rate in this affection. Their use deserves a degree of popular 
prejudice. They belong to that class of medicines which simply 
relieve symptoms, and are in no sense curative, and their use 
should be limited to professional practice absolutely. 



ARNICA— Arnica Montana. 

Arnica is one of the most popular of household remedies. Arnica 
flowers come from Europe and Siberia, and are used in the form 
of Tincture or Infusion. 

At one time Arnica was much used as an internal remedy, but 
I do not remember ever seeing but one prescription containing it, 
for internal administration. In some sections it is used internally 
for rheumatism, palsies, gout, and nervous affections. Many assert 
that in doses of from five to twenty drops, the Tincture of Arnica is 
highly beneficial in internal injuries, and bruises from shocks and 
concussions. 

As an external remedy Arnica is much used. Some of the best 
authorities say that it is of no value whatever ; the alcohol in the 
Tincture, and not the presence of Arnica, doing the good. 

Others, however, claim that it is a most potent remedy, that the 
Alcohol is a detriment, and that an Infusion is preferable. There 
is some reason for the latter belief, because the Alcoholic Tincture 
sometimes causes irritation, which is not the case when the watery 
infusion is used. 

Its main use is as an external remedy for all kinds of injuries, 
bruises, wounds, inflammations, and painful swellings. The Infusion 
is generally preferred where the skin is broken, and is made by 
steeping four ounces of Arnica flowers in a quart or more of 
boiling water, and straining it after it has become cold. The 
Tincture may be used either pure, or diluted with from one to six 
times its bulk of water. Friction, no doubt when it is admissible, 
aids its curative effects. 



435 



ARSENIC— Arsenicum. 



Arsenic is, in all its forms, a deadly poison. 

The preparations mostly used are : — 

White Arsenic (Arsenious Acid), dose, one-hundredth to one- 
fortieth of a grain. 

Fowler's Solution of Arsenic (Liquor Potassii Arsenitis), dose, one to 
three drops, in water. 

Paris Green. Arsenic and Copper ; used for potato bugs. 

London Purple. Arsenic, lime, and aniline ; used for potato bugs. 

Pure metallic Arsenic is not found in commerce. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the preparations of Arsenic are 
extremely poisonous, and if carelessly used will always prove 
hurtful; yet when properly administered they are remedies of 
great value. 

Much has been published in regard to " arsenic eating," but we 
are inclined to believe that such cases are rare indeed. No one 
should ever think of taking it in full doses at all, or in small 
doses for any length of time without the knowledge of a physician. 

The idea that arsenic will, like lead, mercury, and some other 
drugs, accumulate in the system, is erroneous. When taken, its 
presence in the system is very transient, yet, when properly used, 
it is one of the most powerful and permanent tonics in the entire 
list of medicines. 

It rates with quinine in the chronic forms of malaria, and when 
the malarial poison lingers in the system, as a sequel to chills and 
fever, or remittent fever, it should always be combined with other 
antiperiodics in the treatment. 

In the early stages of consumption there is no medicine more 
beneficial than arsenic. A reliable author says : " I can confi- 
dently assert that thousands of lives would be saved annually if 
arsenic was properly used in the treatment of pulmonary con- 
sumption." 

Unlike cod-liver oil, it is not unpleasant to the taste, nor does it 
nauseate ; unlike iron, it does not constipate ; but it seems to be 
especially adapted to those conditions which accompany lung 



Its good effect is most apparent in the chronic forms of the 
disease. In the acute form, attended with fever, it is injurious. 

It is probably the equal of any remedy for rheumatic gout, and 
in rheumatism, especially where the pain is deep-seated, it often 
acts admirably. 

In neuralgia, obstinate headaches, and in those chronic conditions 



436 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

in which pain is a prominent symptom, whether it be rheumatism, 
neuralgia, or other chronic diseases, it is well worth a trial. 

In Chorea or St.. Vitus's dance, it is almost a specific, and no case 
should be pronounced incurable until the treatment has embraced 
a course of arsenic. 

In the various chronic skin diseases, especially those of a scaly 
character, it is of great service. 

Persons having dyspepsia, gastric catarrh, constipation, torpid liver, 
and melancholy, are often greatly benefited by small doses of 
arsenic. 

Cancerous affections are sometimes made better by its use. 

It is not suited to external use, and the danger of doing harm 
outweighs any possible good it may do, as an external application. 

In former years a paste, containing arsenic, was applied to 
cancers, to " eat them out ; " but it was a hazardous procedure, and 
under no circumstance justifiable. 

Arsenic is a deadly poison in overdoses, and when used as a 
medicine, extreme care should be exercised not to take it in too 
large doses, or continue its use too long. 

When it causes swelling about the eyes, or deranges the system 
in any way, the dose should be lessened, or stopped altogether. 
It should always be discontinued for a few days, at least once in 
two weeks, when taken for a long time. It is less apt to cause 
disturbance of the stomach if taken immediately after meals. 

The use of arsenic requires the greatest care. Physicians always 
prescribe it from a tentative standpoint, that is, as an experiment. 
It can never be used otherwise. Some persons are very susceptible 
to its influence, and in very small doses, it produces symptoms of 
poisoning. 

Fowler's Solution is the best preparation of Arsenic for medi- 
cinal use. 



ASAFCETIDA. 

Owing to its peculiar odor, this drug is familiar to all. It is a 
medicine of great utility, and were it not for its unpleasant smell, 
it would be largely employed. 

In nervous derangements, attended with hysteria, dyspepsia, wind 
in the bowels, loiv spirits, " where the body, nerves, and mind seem 
to aggravate each other," there is no remedy better adapted than 
Asafoetida. 

In bronchial affections, chronic cough, and catarrh, cough of habit, 
especially of old people, it is among the most reliable remedies. 



BALMONY — BALSAM COPAIBA — BALSAM OF PERU. 437 

In menstrual disorders, attended with constipation and flatulence, 
it gives great relief. It is invaluable in the flatulent colic of 
infancy, and it will often relieve infantile convulsions when injected 
into the bowel. 

The most acceptable form to take it is in Pills, procurable at 
any drug store. Dose, one or two. 

Mixture of Asafcetida is well suited for children. Dose, one-half 
to one teaspoonful. 

Dewees's Carminative is a very acceptable preparation, but it con- 
tains some opium. Dose, one-half to two teaspoonfuls. 

" A little — a very little — rubbed on the gridiron, improves the 
flavor of beefsteak." 



ADRENALIN. 

Adrenalin is extracted from the suprarenal gland. It is sold 
chiefly as adrenalin chloride solution 1 : 1,000, and possesses re- 
markable power in arresting hemorrhage and contracting swollen 
and congested membranes. It is used in obstinate nose-bleed, 
coryza, hay fever, asthma, etc. 



BALSAM COPAIBA. 

Balsam of Copaiba comes chiefly from Brazil, and, as found in 
the stores, is a clear, pale yellow, oil-like liquid, with a peculiar 
smell, and, to most persons, a very disagreeable taste. 

Balsam Copaiba is occasionally used in chronic catarrhal and 
bronchial affections, and in diseases of the mucous membranes, espe- 
cially of the gcnito-urinary organs. It is a remedy of limited value. 

Internal piles are often cured by fifteen-drop doses of Balsam 
of Copaiba, taken on sugar, or in the form of an emulsion. 

Chronic bronchitis, and nasal catarrh, are alleviated by Copaiba, 
and as these diseases are very difficult to cure, it may often be 
used after other remedies have been tried. 



BALSAM OF PERU. 

This Balsam comes from Central America. It is said that the 
natives bruise the trees with a club and catch the exudation in 
old rags ; these are boiled in water, and as the balsam rises it is 
skimmed off and sent to market. It is a dark brownish liquid, 
about the consistence of molasses, and of a warm, bitter taste. 



438 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Like all balsams, it is recommended for bronchial, catarrhal, and 
pectoral troubles. Dose, ten to twenty drops on sugar. 

It is more used in ointments than in any other way in this 
country, as an application to inflammatory and chronic skin dis- 
eases. It is a very effectual application for the itch. 



BAUME TRANQUILLE. 

Baume Tranquille, technically known as Balsa/mum Tranquilans, 
is a solution of opium, belladonna, conium, hyoscyamus, and 
stramonium, in olive oil. It also contains a small quantity of the 
oils of sage, wormwood, lavender, thyme, peppermint, and rose. 
It is a French preparation, and has been much used in some 
sections of this country. It forms quite an effectual local applica- 
tion for neuralgia, rheumatism, and external pains. A few drops on 
cotton inserted into the ear, is an excellent remedy for earache. 



BAUNSCHEIDTISM. 

Baunscheidtism, or the Exanthematic method of treatment, 
consists of puncturing the skin with needles, and applying oil to 
the punctured surface. The instrument employed to puncture 
the skin consists of "A heavy disk about half an inch in diameter, 
having inserted into it about twenty-five needles, each about one- 
half inch in length. To this disk a strong wire spiral spring is 
attached, and the other extremity of the spring is inserted into an 
elongated spindle-shaped handle. The spring and the needles are 
contained in a cylinder, and the handle attached. The open end of 
the cylinder is placed on the spot to be treated, and the handle is 
then drawn up, which compresses the spring : now, if suddenly 
loosed, the recoil of the spring drives the needles into the skin." 

If the skin be previously rubbed with chloroform, the process is 
almost painless. 

The punctures are to be rubbed with a weak solution of croton 
oil, cajuput oil, or Oil of Baunscheidtismus, — a preparation sold by 
those who keep the machines, perhaps composed of olive oil, to 
which is added some more stimulating oil. 

Painful diseases, such as sciatica, lumbago, and local neuralgias, 
are often immediately relieved by this method. As a counter- 
irritant in chronic affections, it is well worth a trial. There are 



BELLADONNA. 439 

only a few manufacturers of these instruments in this country. 
The instruments and oil are placed before the public as hobbies, 
and recommended for almost every imaginable disease, which is 
doing the treatment a gross injustice. They are also sold at an 
exorbitant price by the manufacturers. Should they ever be 
placed on the market in a legitimate way, and their use confined 
to the cases to which they are specially adapted, they will, no 
doubt, prove a blessing. 



BELLADONNA. 

Belladonna, or Deadly Nightshade, is a well-known plant, and 
its preparations are much used in medicine. It is, in every form, 
a deadly poison. It owes its virtues to an active principle which 
it contains, called Atropine. 

Belladonna ranks next to opium as an anodyne and antispas- 
modic, and the active principles of the two — Atropine and Morphia 
— are often prescribed together ; opium produces sleep, belladonna 
wakefulness; opium constipates, belladonna is laxative; opium 
contracts the pupil of the eye, belladonna dilates it; when given 
together as a medicine their good qualities, such as quieting pain, 
relaxing spasm, relieving asthma, cough, etc., act in harmony, 
while their objectionable qualities seem to neutralize each 
other. 

As an anodyne to relieve spasmodic pains, affections of the 
urinary apparatus and lower bowel, and to allay whooping cough 
and neuralgia, it ranks with the best remedies. It is more used 
than anything in cases of wetting the bed of childhood. 

It is a valuable addition to laxative and cathartic pills ; it pre- 
vents other drugs from griping, and, at the same time, aids their 
cathartic action. 

Belladonna has enjoyed a reputation as being preventive of 
scarlet fever, but experience has failed to accord to it any such 
virtues. 

Applied to the skin, it acts as a local anodyne, and is constantly 
employed in liniments, plasters, and ointments, to relieve the 
pains of rheumatism and neuralgia. Belladonna porous plasters 
are well adapted to the treatment of the chest pams incident to 
lung affections. 

The Tincture is chiefly used in medicine, dose one to five drops. 

Belladonna Leaves are often added to asthma fumigators, greatly 
improving their antispasmodic effect. 



440 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



ATROPIA. 

This is the active principle of belladonna, and is a very powerful 
yet useful medicine. 

A solution of Atropia is much employed to dilate the pupil of 
the eye ; when a few drops of a one per cent, solution in water are 
dropped into the eye, the pupil will dilate in a few minutes. 

Atropia is a valuable addition to Morphia when the latter is to 
be administered hypodermically. It is a very valuable remedy 
for the night-sweats of consumption. 

Dose of Sulphate of Atropia, one-hundredth to one-sixtieth of a 
grain. 



BENZOIN. 
BENZOIC ACID. 

Benzoin, from which the preparations of benzoin are made, is 
found in the form of a resin. 

Plain Tincture of Benzoin is not much used in medicine. It is 
added to ointments to prevent rancidity. 

Diluted with twenty parts of water, it forms an excellent wash 
for foul ulcers, skin eruptions, and freckles. Benzoin enters into the 
composition of many toilet preparations for the skin. 

Benzoic Acid occurs in soft, white, feathery crystals. It has 
been highly prized, first, for catarrhal affections, but more recently 
for urinary disorders. 

Benzoic Acid or its salts, especially Benzoate of Ammonia, 
furnishes the best mode of rendering the urine acid. Benzoic acid 
is an ingredient of paregoric. 

Stone in the bladder, when of the phosphatic variety, is said to 
be dissolved by the long continued use of benzoate of ammonia. 

Dose of Benzoic Acid, five to twenty grains. Dose of Benzoate 
of Ammonia, five to twenty grains. 



TURLINGTON'S BALSAM— Compound Tincture of Benzoin. 

This preparation, also known as Friar's Balsam, contains, besides 
Benzoin, Aloes, Styrax, Tolu, and Alcohol. It is much used as a 
domestic remedy. 

It is especially useful in chronic bronchial and catarrhal coughs, 
and in urinary affections. Dose, thirty drops to a teaspoonful. 

Locally, it will be found useful for cracked nipples, sore lips, and 



BISMUTH — BITTERSWEET — BLACK COHOSH. 411 

indolent ulcers, for which purposes it should be added to four times 
as much glycerine. 



BISMUTH. 

There are two preparations of this drug sold : — 

SuBNITRATE OF BlSMUTH, AND SlJBCARBONATE OP BlSMUTH. 

They both occur in the form of a white powder, and are very 
similar in their action ; the subnitrate is most commonly used. 

These preparations are often prescribed, and are very useful in 
the treatment of chronic diarrhoea and the summer complaints of 
children, more especially after the acute symptoms have subsided. 
And in the nausea, vomiting, and pain, resulting from dyspepsia, 
ulcer, cancer, or irritation of the stomach, it is very palliative. In 
such cases the dose is from five to fifteen grains, to be taken when 
the stomach is empty. 

The usual dose of either is the same — three to ten grains stirred 
in milk ; dose for children from one to three grains. 

Externally it is used in ointments and powders, to be applied 
for various skin diseases. Canker in the mouth can be cured by 
freely applying the powder to the parts. 

Bismuth is a very harmless cosmetic powder. 



BITTERSWEET. 

Bittersweet, also called Dulcamara or Woody Nightshade, is often 
used in domestic practice for almost all kinds of disease, both 
internal and external. 

This is, no doubt, largely due to the taking name which it 
bears. Its real virtue is far from definite. 

It is used in cutaneous affections; rheumatism; catarrhal, kidney, 
and liver trouble; and as a blood purifier. 

The Fluid Extract is the best preparation. Dose, one-half tea- 
spoonful. 



BLACK COHOSH-Cimicifuga. 

Black Cohosh, or Black Snake Root, is a very common plant, 
and the root can be procured at any drug store ; but the Fluid 
Extract is the preferable preparation of the drug, as the root will 

"" kej 



deteriorate if kept any length of time. 



442 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

This drug is highly prized in Europe as a remedy for rheumat- 
ism; neuralgia, asthma, whooping-cough, and nervous affections, but is 
seldom employed in this country. 

In the St. Vitus's dance, of childhood, cimicifuga has been used 
with marked success. It must be freely given for this purpose ; 
and tonics, especially iron, should be used at the same time. 

It is generally one of the ingredients of those household recipes 
which are used as domestic "cure-alls," and it is supposed to 
increase the action of the various emunctories of the body. 

Dose of the fluid extract, one-half to one teaspoonful. 

In the form of Tincture, it is used as an external application in 
lumbago, rheumatism, and neuralgia, but no doubt its virtues have 
been over-estimated. 



BLACK HAW-Vlburnum Prunlfolium. 
CRAMP BARK— Viburnum Opulus. 

There are two varieties of Viburnum — Viburnum Prunifolium, 
or Black Haw, and Viburnum Opulus, or Cramp Bark, High Cran- 
berry, etc. — both being common in the United States. 

The bark is the part used. It is said to be a nerve tonic, anti- 
spasmodic and astringent. 

Its use has been confined largely to domestic practice, but dur- 
ing the past few years the profession have prescribed it to some 
extent as a remedy to correct irregularities during gestation ; its 
virtue is, however, largely suppositional. 

Fluid extract, dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. 



BLISTERS. 

Blistering the skin is the most decided mode of counter-irritation. 
Cantharides, commonly known as Spanish flies, or " fly blister," is 
by far the best and safest vesicant. 

For blistering purposes, cantharidal cerate or Spanish fly ointment 
should be evenly spread on a piece of adhesive plaster, with 
enough clean, free margin to hold it on when applied ; or what 
is better, blistering plasters can be bought, spread ready for use. 
If a blister is ordered by the physician, do not think of purchasing 
the ointment and spreading it at home ; have it spread by the 
druggist, who alone understands how to do it. 



BLOOD-LETTING. 443 

As a rule it requires from four to twelve hours for a blister to 
draw. When applied to the scalp, it requires about twelve hours. 
Ordinarily from four to six hours are sufficient, and it should be 
carefully and entirely removed, and a flaxseed or bread and milk 
poultice applied, which will hasten the completion of the blistering 
process. Unless there are special reasons for doing otherwise, 
blisters should be allowed to heal. After the contents are dis- 
charged by puncturing the most dependent point, the best dressing 
consists of binding common raw cotton over the surface; care 
being taken not to remove the skin. If it is desired to continue 
the irritation, the cuticle should be removed and basilicon oint- 
ment applied. Sometimes other and more irritating substances 
are used. Occasionally a large blister will cause strangury 
(suppression of the urine), to prevent which the camphorated 
cantharidal plaster only, should be used. This article is for sale in 
every drug store. Should strangury occur, flaxseed tea, sweet 
spirits of nitre, and paregoric, are appropriate remedies. Extreme 
caution should be used in blistering children; it is almost 
prohibited for children ; and the weak, debilitated and aged, bear 
them poorly. 

Blisters may be cut in any shape ; in long strips for the back, 
crescent shaped for behind the ear, etc. 

Cantharidal Collodion is ordinary collodion, containing cantha- 
rides, and may be used for blistering purposes. It is especially 
useful when the patient is delirious, or for children, who are apt 
to meddle with the plaster. Two or three coats, applied with a 
camel's hair brush, are sufficient. The blistering process is greatly 
favored by the application of a poultice, and by freely drinking 
warm liquids. 



BLOOD-LETTING. 

Blood-letting, at one time universally practiced, has become 
almost a lost art. There are times when the treatment of disease 
would be greatly facilitated by lessening the quantity of blood 
in the body, but fashion has proscribed it, and general blood- 
letting is a thing of the past. Local blood-letting by the aid of 
leeches and cups is occasionally practiced. 

Leeches are to be preferred when the parts are very sensitive, 
and in some instances, where the parts are irregular, leeches only, 
can be used. One objection to the use of leeches is, that it is 
often impossible to get them when most needed. 



444 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

American leeches (except for children), are not large enough 
to make much impression. Imported leeches are therefore in 
general use. To apply them, wash the parts perfectly clean, 
place the leeches in a tumbler or box, and invert over the spot; 
should they fail to take hold, a drop of blood or sweetened milk 
will induce them to fasten themselves. Each leech will draw 
from one to two teaspoonfuls of blood ; the after bleeding, how- 
ever, greatly increases this amount. Touching a leech with salt 
will cause it to disgorge. It should not be forgotten that a leech 
bite remains as a permanent scar, and as a rule should not be 
permitted on the face. 

Cupping consists of exhausting the air of a cupping glass or 
other hollow glass cup while inverted over the spot to be acted 
upon. When the skin is allowed to remain intact, the process is 
known as dry cupping ; when the skin is divided so as to permit 
a flow of blood into the glass, it is known as wet cupping. 

Leeching and cupping were formerly part of the craft of the 
barber, but he has abandoned the practice in this country, and, 
for some reason, blood-letting in all its forms is almost obsolete. 
There is enough value in it, however, to entitle it to a permanent 
place in the domain of practical medicine. 



BLOODROOT— Sanguinaria. 

Bloodroot, sometimes called Bed Boot, grows in all parts of the 
United States. The root is the part used in medicine. 

As powdered Bloodroot will cause violent sneezing, when 
snuffed up the nostrils, it is used in catarrh snuff, but it is a ques- 
tionable remedy for this purpose. 

Small doses taken internally are of great service in chronic 
nasal and bronchial catarrh, and may be used to advantage in 
catarrhal conditions of the whole alimentary canal, and also of the 
urinary organs. 

It has been used as an emetic in croup, but is too harsh for this 
purpose. 

The infusion of one-half ounce to one pint of hot water is useful 
as a gargle in sore throat, and as a wash for foul ulcers. 

The dose of the Tincture is from five drops to one-half teaspoon- 
ful. 



BONESET — BORAX — BORACIC ACID. 445 



BONESET— Eupatorium Perfoliatum. 

Boneset, also known as Thoroughwort, is an indigenous plant, 
growing in most parts of the United States. 

The leaves and tops are the parts used. It is a domestic remedy 
of much value. 

The Herb and Fluid Extract are sold in the stores, the dose of 
the latter being one-half to one teaspoonful. 

Boneset is tonic, diaphoretic, aperient, and, in large doses, 
emetic. 

It is much used to " break up colds," for which purpose warm 
boneset tea is freely drank, preferably at bedtime. Taken in this 
way, it produces free perspiration. 

It will also greatly modify various complaints marked by pains, 
high fever, and restlessness, such as acute rheumatism, catarrh, inter- 
mittent fever, etc. 

As a general tonic, taken in small doses, it will be found useful. 
For this purpose it should be given in cold infusion ; one ounce 
of the fluid extract to one pint of water. Dose, one or two tea- 
spoonfuls. 



BORAX— Borate of Sodium. 
BORACIC ACID— Acidum Boracicum. 

Borax is sold in whitish lumps and in white powder. Con- 
trary to the opinions of some, these are exactly alike in composi- 
tion. 

Borax is seldom taken internally, and no definite medical 
properties have been assigned to it as an internal remedy. It is 
an excellent application for sore mouth. It may be applied in 
substance, or for infants it may be dissolved in water and sweet- 
ened with honey. A small lump held in the mouth and sucked, 
has a tendency to increase the secretions of the nose and throat, 
and will be found useful in catarrhal conditions accompanied by 
the formation of dry crusts in these localities. 

Borax is mildly antiseptic and disinfectant. Added to water it 
renders it soft and detergent, highly useful as a wash to the skin. 
It has a tendency to whiten the skin and remove freckles. Borax 
water is a safe and cleansing wash for the scalp, but rinsing with 
pure water should follow its use. 

Persons troubled with fetid feet and other offensive pcrqnrations 
will find borax an excellent addition to the bathing water. 



446 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Itchings of the skin, especially of the genitals, are often relieved by- 
washing with a solution of borax. A little added to water im- 
proves it very much as a wash for the hands. 

Powdered Borax is one of the best exterminators we have for 
cockroaches and ants. It should be freely sprinkled around the 
localities which they frequent. 

Borax should be purchased from the druggist bj the pound, in 
powder form, and kept in a tin box with a perforated lid. 

Boeic Acid is antiseptic and disinfectant and is deservedly 
popular as an addition to talcum and dusting powders and dress- 
ings, and dissolved in water is excellent for offensive, irritated 
and itching surfaces. Dissolved in rose water, 10 to 20 grains 
to the ounce, it forms an excellent eye wash, causing no pain. 
Its solution is useful for burns, scalds and erysipelas, for the re- 
moval of freckles and fetid perspirations. It is useful as an in- 
gredient of nasal washes and gargles. Boric acid is irritating to 
the skin of some people. 

Boric Acid Ointment is a desirable application for sunburn 
and chapped surfaces. 



BRITISH OIL. 

This preparation, formerly imported, but now made in any 
laboratory, is an excellent remedy, applied externally, for sprains, 
bruises, cuts, sore throat, painful chest, rheumatism, and as a general 
liniment. 

Internally, it is useful in colds and lung affections. 

It may be given in doses of ten drops to one-half teaspoonful, 
preferably on sugar, from a spoon. 

It is an excellent remedy, and well-suited for domestic purposes. 



BROMIDE OF SODA. 

BROMIDE OF POTASH. 

BROMIDE OF AMMONIA. 

BROMIDE OF LITHIA. 

The Bromides, of which the above named are the leading 
preparations, are used very largely by the profession. 

The Bromide of Potash is used to quiet cerebral or nervous 
excitement, hence is used in nervousness, hysteria, epileptic fits, and in 
convulsions of every sort, By its specific action on the brain 



BRYONIA. 447 



circulation it is one of our best remedies for sleeplessness, whether 
from mental overwork, worry, or excitement. 

The dose of any of these drugs is from five to twenty grains in 
water. 

The Elixir of Bromide of Potash is the best preparation for 
general use. It contains ten grains to the teaspoonful, and the 
dose is one or two teaspoonfuls, repeated as necessary. It is often 
prescribed in much larger doses than this. All druggists keep it 
ready prepared. It should be remembered that these are not 
desirable medicines to use regularly for a long time, unless so 
ordered by a physician, as they are apt to derange the digestion. 

The Bromides, especially the Bromide of Ammonia, have been 
used as " anti-fat " remedies, but no doubt their virtue in this 
direction is due to the fact that they interfere with the digestion. 
If this be true, it is a very questionable experiment to use them. 

Bromides should not be used in ansemic and impoverished or 
enfeebled conditions of the system. 

A number of effervescent combinations with Bromides have 
been placed on the market, and commend themselves to special 
cases. They are superior preparations. 

The Bromides are not suited for popular use, and it is well to 
confine their use to the domain of professional medicine. They 
belong to that class of medicines which are temporary in effect, in 
no direct sense curative, and not suited to conditions which have 
become established. 

The much advertised " cures for fits," and " asthma cures," 
contain, as a rule, some one of the Bromides, and should be 
avoided. 

Effervescent Bromo- Caffeine, Bromo-Soda, etc., are very elegant, 
but high-priced preparations. 

In nervousness, headache, and sleeplessness, especially in debilitated 
and exhausted conditions of the mind and body, they are preferable 
to the plain drug. 

When headache and nervousness is due to constipation the 
bromides should not be used — a seidlitz powder or other laxative 
will prove more efficacious. 



BRYONIA-Bryonia Alba. 

Bryonia, or Bryony, is a European plant, the Tincture of which 
is found in the stores. It is largely used by homeopathic physi- 
cians for a number of diseases; especially in those conditions 



448 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

where exercise or motion causes pain, and rest or inactivity give 
relief. Bad colds, characterized by a dry, tight cough and headache, 
attended with torpid liver and constipation, are relieved by ten-drop 
doses of tincture of Bryonia every two or three hours. 
Dose of the tincture from five drops to one teaspoonful. 



BUCHU. 

Buchu is generally sold either in the leaf or in the form of 
Fluid Extract. There are two varieties, the short and long leaf; 
the former is the kind generally employed. 

Buchu is slightly tonic, and has a decidedly stimulating effect 
on the mucous membranes, with a special tendency to the mucous 
membranes of the bladder, and genito -urinary organs. It is used 
with much advantage in almost all diseases of the bladder and 
the urinary organs. Where the urine is high-colored, it should be 
given with some alkaline salt, and probably with sweet spirits of 
nitre ; as Buchu alone, does not materially increase the flow of 
urine. 

In inflammation of the bladder, sub-acute or chronic, or of any 
portion of the urinary tract, or of irritation of the same, it is 
among the best of remedies. 

Dose of Fluid Extract, ten drops to one teaspoonful, well-diluted, 
three or four times a day. 

Infusion (one ounce to one pint boiling water), dose three to four 
tablespoonfuls. 



BUCKTHORN-Frangula. 

Buckthorn belongs to the same class as Cascara Sagrada, and is 
quite similar in its medicinal effects. 

The Fluid Extract is found in the stores, but Buckthorn is 
generally used in the form of a syrup, which has been placed on 
the market in various forms as a rival of Cascara Cordial. 

The dose of the Fluid Extract is one-half to one teaspoonful. 

I know of no virtues which entitle it to general use. 

Syrup of Buckthorn is used as a cathartic to purge dogs, but I 
have failed to find any mention of why it should be preferred to 
other cathartic drugs for these animals. 



BURDOCK — CADMIUM — CAFFEINE. 449 



BURDOCK— Lappa Minor. 

Burdock Root, and sometimes Burdock Seeds, are used in medi- 
cine. 

Burdock is supposed to purify the blood, and has been much 
used in domestic practice to restore a healthy condition of the 
body when weakened by rheumatism, scrofula, and other chronic 
affections. It promotes the action of the skin, kidneys, and bowels. 

Dose of the Fluid Extract, one teaspoonful. 



CADMIUM. 

Cadmium as a medicine is not so powerful as zinc, but other- 
wise very closely resembles it in its action. 

Sulphate of Cadmium, dissolved in rose water, two grains to the 
ounce, is a well recommended eye-water. 

The same is an excellent application to ulceration of the ears ; 
the ear should be first washed out with warm water and the above 
applied with a syringe. 

Iodide of Cadmium ointment, made by adding one part to eight 
of lard, is used to reduce chronic enlargements and scrofulous 
glandular swellings. 



CAFFEINE. 

Caffeine is found in the stores as Citrate of Caffeine, Granular 
Effervescent Citrate of Caffeine, Bromo- Caffeine, and Bromide Caffeine. 
The last two are effervescent, granular salts, much more eligible 
for general use than the Citrate. 

Caffeine is a principle found in coffee, tea, and guarana. Most 
of that made at the present day is prepared from tea. 

It is prescribed by physicians, and is used largely for nervous 
headache. 

It is well adapted to those cases not complicated with con- 
stipation. 

As these preparations are somewhat astringent, laxatives should 
be used when required to overcome their influence in this respect. 

While it sometimes relieves headache very quickly, it more 
often fails. 

It is simply a cerebral and cardiac stimulant, and its effect is 
only temporary. 

29 



450 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

It is poor policy to depend upon transient stimulation — no 
matter what the nature of the stimulant may be — to relieve our 
manifold pains and indispositions. 



CALAMUS. 

Calamus, or Sweet Flag, grows in abundance in low, marshy 
places, and the root, nicely pared, may be found in any drug store. 
It is much used to "sweeten the breath" and to correct minor 
derangements of the digestion. 



SULPHIDE OF CALCIUM-Calx Sulphurata. 

Sulphurated Lime, or as it is universally but incorrectly called, 
" Sulphide of Calcium," is seldom used in medicine. 

Its most important use is as a remedy for boils, over which it 
has the reputation of exercising a marked control. 

In every drug store may be found sugar-coated or gelatine- 
coated pills, containing from one-tenth to one-half grain of sul- 
phide of calcium. One of the former size may be taken every 
four hours, or of the latter, one three times a day, or two grains 
may be rubbed up with twenty grains of sugar of milk, and 
divided into twenty powders, and one taken every two hours. 

Sulphide of Calcium is a very reliable depilatory, and is alluded 
to in the Chapter on the Hair. 



GUM CAMPHOR-Camphora. 

SPIRITS OF CAMPHOR— Spiritus Camphorse. 

CAMPHOR WATER— Aqua Camphorae. 

Camphor Gum comes from Asia. It is brought to this country 
in the crude state, containing much wood, bark, and other sub- 
stances, and it is purified and run into large cakes, and these, 
broken in pieces, form the gum-camphor of the drug stores. 

It is sold also in the form of Camphor Water and Spirits of 
Camphor. It is an ingredient of paregoric and other recognized 
preparations. 

Camphor is a quieting medicine to the nerves, being used to 
control a number of important morbid conditions. 



CAMPHOR-CHLORAL — MONOBROMATE OP CAMPHOR. 451 

It is used in cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, vomiting, pain in the 
stomach, nervousness, nervous headache, and nervous pains generally; 
and in fevers of various kinds, and irritable conditions of the 
urinary organs. It is also a preventive of strangury. As a remedy 
in nervous uterine troubles, attended with pain and hysterical 
symptoms, camphor is excellent. 

Locally, it is used for toothache, neuralgia, headache, and wherever 
a local anodyne is required. 

Camphor water is a good remedy for colic, and restlessness in 
babies. The dose for an infaut is one teaspoonful. 

The adult dose of spirits of camphor is from ten to twenty drops 
on sugar, stirred into water. Some people prefer whiskey or 
brandy as a solvent for camphor. Aside from the flavor of these 
articles, dilute deodorized alcohol would answer equally well. 

Gum camphor is much used as an insecticide. It is very effec- 
tual in keeping out moth, and if placed among silverware and 
cutlery, will prevent them from tarnishing. 

In using it about the face, care should be taken, not to get it in 
the eyes. 

Equal parts of spirits of camphor and laudanum form a strongly 
anodyne liniment for painful and swollen joints. 

It enters into several officinal ointments and liniments ; it is 
also an ingredient of most secret liniments and embrocations. 



CAMPHOR-CHLORAL. 

Camphor-Chloral or Chloral- Camphor is made by triturating 
together equal parts of gum camphor and chloral hydrate, until 
they are liquefied. 

This liquid is an excellent remedy for superficial neuralgia and 
toothache. 

It occasions tingling of the skin, but never blisters. 

It should be labeled il poison," as it is entirely unsuited for 
internal use. 



MONOBROMATE OF CAMPHOR. 

The bromides are quieting to the nerves and so is camphor ; 
so that the very name of Monobromate of Camphor suggests a 
remedy for nervous affections. 

It is used in hysteria, nervousness, St. Vitus's dance, epilepsy, 



452 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

whooping cough, and other nervous disorders, but is unsuited for 
popular use. 

Dose, three to five grains in pill or emulsion. 



CARBOLIC ACID— Acidum Carbolicum. 

Carbolic or Phenic Acid, a product from coal tar, is found in the 
stores in crystal form, and in solution made by dissolving the 
solid acid with the aid of heat, and adding about five per cent, of 
water or glycerine to keep it liquefied. 

Carbolic acid arrests putrefaction, and has been much used as a 
deodorizer and disinfectant, There is a crude carbolic acid and a 
carbolic powder sold for disinfecting purposes. While their odor 
is more offensive than the pure acid, they are well suited for 
drains, privies, henneries, and barnyards. 

Carbolic acid has been much used in what is known as " anti- 
septic surgery," but more active agents have largely superseded 
its use. 

A teaspoonful in a pint of water may be used as a gargle in 
putrid sore throat, and as a wash for foul and indolent ulcers. Physi- 
cians sometimes carefully brush the throat with a mixture com- 
posed of one part of the acid and six parts glycerine. 

Ten drops of the acid to an ounce of sweet oil is one of the best 
remedies for a bum or scald, Carbolic acid is somewhat anodyne, 
and, mixed as above, it relieves the pain entirely. 

Thirty grains of the acid to one ounce of Benzoated Lard makes 
an excellent application to itching and irritated surfaces ; or what is 
still better, the well-known carbolated Vaseline, or Cosmoline, 
may be used for such purposes. 

Carbolic acid, properly diluted with water, has been used with 
success as a spray for the throat. 

Various inhaling apparatus may be found at the drug stores 
for breathing it. Creasote is preferred for this purpose by most 
persons. 

Carbolic acid has not maintained its former reputation as a 
disinfectant and deodorizer, and while this department of medical 
science is receiving great attention, this drug seems to play a very 
indefinite part in the practical application of chemical agents. 

One-drop doses of Carbolic Acid, given in emulsion, will often 
relieve nervous vomiting, but it is rarely taken internally. 

I have found pure carbolic acid, when carefully and somewhat 
sparingly applied to chilblains, to afford relief. 



CARDAMOM SEEDS — CASCARA SAGRADA. 453 



CARDAMOM SEEDS. 

Cardamom seeds, as found in the stores, are in yellowish white 
pods or capsules. The seeds are of a reddish-brown color, of an 
agreeable odor, and of a pungent, aromatic taste. 

On account of their aromatic taste and odor, they are often 
chewed by smokers and others, to sweeten the breath. 

Preparations of cardamom are seldom used alone, but are much 
prescribed as an auxiliary to tonic, carminative, and cathartic 
medicines. 

Compound Tincture of Cardamom contains caraway, cinnamon, 
and cochineal, and except in connection with other agents, as 
their corrective or adjuvant, hardly deserves mentioning. 



CASCARA SAGRADA— Rhamnus Purshiana. 

Cascara Sagrada, or California Buckthorn, has become a uni- 
versal favorite both in professional and domestic practice as a 
remedy for chronic constipation. It is not recommended in large, 
cathartic doses, but in small doses, as a laxative, it ranks among 
the best of all medicines. It is claimed that there is no reaction 
following its use. In other words, different from most laxatives, 
it leaves the bowels better off than it finds them. 

A large variety of preparations of cascara flood the market, and 
a number of the leading brands are most excellent. In most of 
them the bitter taste is eliminated. There are two Fluid Extracts 
of Cascara, the bitter and the aromatic. Dose of either ten drops 
to half teaspoonful. 

Cascara Cordial or Elixer of Cascara are popular preparations 
well suited for general use and are well adapted for children. 
Dose, one to two teaspoonfuls. 

Extract of Cascara in three and five grain compressed choco- 
late-coated pills are deservedly popular and can be purchased in 
any quantity. I have sold thousands of them and they give ex- 
cellent satisfaction. Dose, one pill night and morning as required. 

The important thing to remember is that the chief use of cas- 
cara is to overcome chronic and habitual constipation, and its 
best results follow when taken in small doses continued as neces- 
sary. It is often combined with other remedies to secure its 
laxative effects. 



454 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

CATECHU-Catechu. 
LOGWOOD— Haematoxylon. 
R H ATAN Y-Kram eria. 
OAK BARK— Quercus. 
KINO-Kino. 

These substances are all similar in their effect upon the system, 
their value depending largely upon the tannin they contain. 

Catechu and Kino are more used than the others — principally 
in the form of tincture — combined generally with chalk and other 
correctives, for diarrhoea, dysentery, etc. 

Dose of any of the above in the form of tincture is from one-half 
to one teaspoonful. 

Equal parts of tincture of catechu and paregoric in teaspoonful 
doses, repeated to meet the exigencies of the case, form an excel- 
lent remedy for troublesome diarrhoea. 

Logwood tea may be made by steeping an ounce of it and a 
drachm of cinnamon in one pint of water for ten minutes. 

Dose in diarrhoea one or two tablespoonfuls. 



CAYENNE PEPPER-Capsicum. 

Cayenne or Red Pepper is a very valuable household remedy. 
Its use as a condiment is familiar to all. Much of that sold in 
the stores is more or less adulterated. It has been much used for 
the dyspepsia resulting from intemperance; and as a tonic for the 
debility of old people, red pepper tea, taken warm and weak, often 
proves extremely valuable. The craving for strong drink is said 
to be modified by red pepper tea. There are some persons who 
are naturally dyspeptic; they are rather weak in muscle; the 
skin is rough, cold and dry; the food fails to excite the secre- 
tions of the stomach, and the digestive process is languid and 
imperfect and attended with flatulence ; such cases are benefited 
by the moderate use of capsicum. 

Hot pepper tea will be found an excellent remedy for flatulent 
colic. It is often used as a gargle in sore throat, tonsilitis, hoarse- 
ness, and elongated uvula; for such purposes the tea should be 
made quite strong. 

Tincture of Capsicum is the only liquid preparation of cay- 
enne sold in the stores. 

Dose five to twenty drops in water. 



OXALATE OP CERIUM — ROMAN CHAMOMILE. 455 

It is recommended as an application to chilblains, but should 
not be used if the skin is broken. 

Capsicum Porous Plasters are a staple counter-irritant, highly 
useful for rheumatism, neuralgic pains and headache ; for the last- 
named disorder they should be applied to the nape of the neck. 



OXALATE OF CERIUM. 

Oxalate of Cerium, a white powder, insoluble in water, is much 
prescribed as a remedy for vomiting, especially when associated 
with pregnancy or uterine disorders. 

The dose is one to three grains in pill form, or stirred up in 
water, three or four times a day. 



ROMAN CHAMOMILE-Anthemis. 

No better stomachic tonic can be found than Chamomile Floivers. 
There are two kinds of chamomile flowers found in the stores, the 
Roman, which are white, and the German, which are yellowish- 
brown. The Roman are almost universally used, but the German 
are preferred by many. 

The infusion made by adding one pint of cold water to one-half 
ounce of the flowers, may be taken in doses of one to four table- 
spoonfuls before meals. This infusion or " tea " is an excellent 
tonic during convalescence, and in the debility and loss of appetite 
of the delicate and aged. 

A tepid infusion of chamomile, freely drank, is an excellent 
auxiliary to emetics. 

The "Chamomilla" of the homeopaths is made from German 
chamomile, and is given for various kinds of nervous pains aggra- 
vated at night ; and for teething, colic, etc., in children. 

As chamomile is a tonic to the stomach, and has the power of 
improving the appetite and digestion, and at the same time is a 
harmless nervine, tending to quiet the nerves and promote sleep, 
it might be made to fill a very important place in medical practice. 
Dollars are often spent for secret nostrums, when much less 
money, expended for chamomile flowers, would prove far more 
beneficial, and in no case harmful. 



456 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



CHARCOAL-Carbo Ligni. 

Charcoal for medicinal purposes should be made from soft 
wood, either willow or poplar, and kept in glass bottles. 

Common charcoal, made from pine, is manufactured on a large 
scale in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, and forms an 
important item of commerce. 

Were it not for its color and disfiguring qualities, it would be 
much more used than it is, it being one of the best absorbents we 
have. 

When applied to foul and offensive ulcers in the form of dry 
powder, sprinkled on, or in poultice, it will often greatly improve 
their condition. 

Charcoal will absorb twenty-five times its bulk of gas, and soon 
becomes contaminated. 

Internally, it is used to correct acidity of the stomach, and it 
may be found useful in some forms of dyspepsia and bowel 
troubles. 

It may be mixed with magnesia, when the latter drug is 
indicated, but the best form in which to take it is in compressed 
lozenges or tablets, for sale in every drug store. 

A good substitute for charcoal may be made by reducing thin 
slices of bread to a char by heat, or whole wheat may be treated 
in the same way. 

The dose of charcoal is one or two teaspoonfuls, or less. Large 
doses should not be continued for any length of time, as its bulk 
might obstruct the bowels. 

Charcoal, on account of its cleansing qualities, is a valuable 
addition to tooth powders. 



CHESTNUT LEAVES-Castanea Vesca. 

The leaves of the common Chestnut tree have been much used 
of late years as a remedy for whooping cough. 

The Fluid Extract may be found in most any drug store ; dose, 
one-half to one teaspoonful. 

It is of doubtful value, but it may be of some service when 
combined with more active remedies. 



CHIRATA — HYDRATE OF CHLORAL. 457 



CHI RATA. 

Chirata is native to India. Although but little used in this 
country, it is highly prized in many parts of the world as a bitter 
tonic. It is very similar to gentian in its effects, and is supposed 
to exert especial influence on the liver, increasing the flow of bile 
and correcting irregular action. Aside from increasing the appe- 
tite and promoting the digestion, I doubt if it possesses any 
notable qualities. It is given in some countries with asserted 
benefit, for malarial affections. It contains no tannin and may 
be given with Iron. The most desirable preparation is the Fluid 
Extract. Dose, ten to twenty drops. 



HYDRATE OF CHLORAL-Chloral Hydrate. 

Chloral is prepared by the action of chlorine gas on alcohol. 

It is generally found in clear crystals, with a peculiar, pungent 
taste and smell, but is sometimes in irregular masses, covered 
with white powder. The clear crystal is more generally used. 

In moderate doses it is a valuable hypnotic. It produces a 
quiet, refreshing, almost natural sleep, and no unpleasant feelings 
follow, as a general rule. It is given in sleeplessness, nervousness, 
hysteria, whooping-cough, and in the whole range of diseases where 
a medicine is needed to produce tranquillity and sleep. 

Unlike many remedies of this kind, it does not relieve pain, and 
should never be given when there is no other indication for its 
use. 

Two drachms in a pint of water make a good lotion for indolent 
and fetid sores and ulcers. 

The dose internally is from five to twenty grains in solution. 

The Elixir of Chloral contains five grains to the teaspoonful, 
and is, for many reasons, the best preparation. 

The question arises : Should Chloral be used except when pre- 
scribed by a physician ? 

An abundance of experience with this drug has convinced the 
writer that it is a dangerous article, and my answer is : No. 

Chloral is one of those remedies, which, when used at the right 
time, is a great blessing, but when used without reference to indi- 
vidual necessity, is capable of doing much mischief. It is a 
poison in over-doseS, and kills quickly. 

Prescriptions, containing Chloral, should not be continued for 
a longer time than the physician directs, because the "Chloral 



458 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Habit" is easily formed in some individuals. As those persons 
for whom it is usually prescribed, are those who most easily be 
come a prey to its use, physicians and druggists should be careful 
in dispensing it. Their knowledge of the above facts carries with 
it plain and important duties. Those who become slaves to it, 
cannot sleep without it. Melancholy, loss of strength, coupled 
with loss of appetite, and mental and moral degeneration, are 
natural results of its continued use. There is a species of incur- 
able insanity brought on occasionally by the continued use of 
chloral. 

It does not relieve pain, it possesses no curative powers, and is 
an irritant to the stomach. Its real merit is circumscribed, and 
its use should be limited to the judgment of the medical prac- 
titioner. 

As above stated, when it destroys life, it does so quickly, and 
there are good reasons for believing that hundreds of persons — 
especially young children and those with weak hearts and frail 
bodies — have been killed by the use of chloral when all suspicion 
of the treacherous drug escaped attention. 



CHLORODYNE. 

Chlorodyne, a patent preparation, originally prepared by Dr. 
J. C. Browne, is a dark-colored, thick, dirty-looking liquid, con- 
tained in a bottle holding less than an ounce, and retailing for 
fifty cents, and has had a wonderful sale. The dose is five to 
fifteen or twenty drops. It is composed of chloroform, ether, 
alcohol, molasses, extract of licorice, muriate of morphia, oil of 
peppermint, syrup, and dilute hydrocyanic acid. It was origi- 
nally used in cholera, but it and its imitations have come into 
general use as anodyne and pain-relieving mixtures in cases of 
colic, diarrhoea and painful affections generally. 

Chlor-anodyne and chlorodynes sold in bulk are imitations of 
the original, and are to be preferred, while the corner druggist no 
doubt can supply a mixture of his own as thoroughly efficacious 
as any to be procured. 

CHLOROFORM. 
ETHER. 

Chloroform and ether, though entirely different elements, are 
so closely associated in medical practice, that they may well be 
classed together. 



CHLOROFORM — ETHER. 459 

Chloroform is made by the action of chlorine on alcohol, and 
is a heavy, clear liquid, very volatile, and of a sweetish, aromatic 
taste. 

Ether is made by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol, and 
is a clear liquid, with a strong, fragrant odor, and hot, pungent 
taste 

Chloroform is much heavier, and ether much lighter than 
water. 

Chloroform and ether are much used to produce anaesthesia, or 
insensibility, during surgical and other operations. 

While chloroform is much more rapid in its action than ether, 
as it contains no oxygen, it is not so safe. 

It is well adapted for children, and for use during childbirth. 
When chloroform is used to " put a person to sleep," fresh air 
should be allowed to enter the lungs, and great care taken, not to 
continue it longer than to produce the requisite insensibility. 

Ether is less rapid, yet far safer, and should always be preferred, 
except in the cases referred to. 

While no one but a physician should think of administering 
chloroform or ether, there are certain considerations, connected 
with the performance, with which the people should be familiar. 

If a person has heart disease, or is given to fainting, or has 
difficulty in breathing, the physician should be so informed. 

The diet for a day before the administration of chloroform 
should be light, and for several hours no solid food should be 
taken. If a person is to take an anaesthetic in the forenoon, it is 
best to forego breakfast. 

This is very important. Not long since the author adminis- 
tered chloroform to a three-year-old child. Although its parents 
had been instructed to feed it sparingly, and to allow it no solid 
food for breakfast, yet when it was fully unconscious it vomited 
an enormous amount of undigested food, almost jeopardizing its 
life. 

Some time previously a gentleman was requested to forego his 
breakfast before the use of ether, but when he became uncon- 
scious he vomited a pint of chestnuts. When the surgeon 
undertook to reprove him for it, after he became conscious, he 
said lie did not suppose chestnuts would do any harm. 

Such carelessness not only greatly enhances the risk of giving 
anaesthetics, but it is often a source of great annoyance to be obliged 
to stop during an operation, to attend to such unpleasant acci- 
dents. 

In skillful hands, chloroform and ether do not result in much 



460 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

injury, and carelessness should never be a source of embarrass- 
ment to the full benefit of these beneficent and God-given 
agents. 

Chloroform is not inflammable and is pleasant to the taste. 
Ether is very inflammable, and a lighted lamp or gas jet must not 
be carried near where it is being administered, as the vapor will 
catch fire. A flame should be at least eight feet from and above 
the patient. 

All talking should be dispensed with during an operation. 

Spirits of Chloroform (one part by weight of chloroform to 
twelve parts by measure of alcohol) are in a desirable form for 
internal use. 

Small doses of chloroform will greatly relieve lead colic, and a 
half teaspoonful taken in water at the beginning of a chill will 
generally prevent it. 

Internally, chloroform in five- to thirty-drop doses (dropped 
with a dropper) will relieve flatulence, and many forms of colic. 
It should be agitated in a draught of water. 

Chloroform liniment is an excellent application for rheumatic 
and neuralgic affections. 

Toothache — without a cavity — can best be relieved by placing 
pieces of cotton, saturated with chloroform, about the root of the 
tooth. 

Equal parts of ether and essence of peppermint form a useful lini- 
ment for facial neuralgia and neuralgic pains in the head. 



RED CLOVER-Trifolium. 

Red Clover is so common as to need no description. 

The blossoms and leaves have enjoyed quite a reputation for a 
few years as a " blood purifier," and have been much used to 
"cleanse the system," and as a cure for female complaints. 

I am quite sure that it does no harm, and there have been 
many instances occurring under my notice where it seemed to do 
good in diseases peculiar to women. 

It is taken in the form of tea, which may be sweetened to suit 
the taste and drank ad libitum. 

Syrup Trifolium Compound has been placed on the market to 
meet a popular demand for red clover. This syrup contains 
other ingredients, but will no doubt disappear when the demand 
for red clover ceases. 



CLOVES — OIL OF CLOVES — COCA. 461 



CLOVES— Caryophyllus. 

OIL OF CLOVES— Oleum Caryophylli. 

Cloves, — the unexpanded flower-buds of the plant, — are a well- 
known household condiment; they also enter into several medi- 
cinal compounds. Cloves are sometimes chewed for bad breath, 
but this trouble can be removed in other and better ways. They 
are a local irritant to the mouth and stomach, and are sure to do 
harm. Sometimes, chiefly among young women, the habit of 
" chewing cloves " is formed, originating, no doubt, in an effort to 
overcome offensive breath. 

Oil of Cloves is a very popular remedy for toothache. It is 
one of the most harmless, and, at the same time, a very effectual 
local application for this painful affection. A small pledget 
of absorbent cotton should be saturated with the oil, carefully 
inserted into the previously cleansed cavity of the tooth, and 
a piece of dry cotton placed over and about the tooth to 
absorb what oil may ooze out ; thus preventing any contact of the 
tongue or mouth with the oil. If nothing more appropriate is in 
the house, one or two drops of oil of cloves may be taken on sugar 
for colic pains or flatulence. 



COCA— Erythroxylon. 

Coca leaves have been used for various purposes for many 
years. They are imported principally from Peru. The drug is 
sold in the form of fluid extract, Compound Elixir of Coca (con- 
taining coca with hypophosphites of lime and soda), and as 
Cocaine, the active principle of coca. 

There are great powers claimed for the drug; not so much as a 
curative agent, as to produce in all conditions, whether morbid or 
normal, a feeling of extra well-being, and a mental and physical 
buoyancy, which dispels fatigue, and imparts courage and strength. 

The fluid extract and the elixir may be used with benefit 
in consumption and other wasting </iscases,(md during convalescence, 
as well as in nervousness and sick headache. 

Cocaine is being used very largely to produce local insensi- 
bility. It is the greatest local anaesthetic in the entire materia 
medica. Operations of a minor nature can be rendered almost 
painless by its use. Teeth can be extracted, the nasal cavity can be 
treated, felons can be opened, and the pain of various minor 
operations can be wonderfully mitigated by its employment. 



462 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

It is, however, one of those remedies entirely unsuited to 
popular use. Physicians will have much difficulty in keeping 
cocaine within the range of its usefulness. There is a possibility 
of its proving a curse, outside of medical restriction. 

I have intimated that the effects of cocaine are pleasant to 
those who use it ; the same may be said of tobacco, of alcohol, and 
of opium, and whatever condemnation these drugs deserve for 
their powers of slavish infatuation, applies with no less force to 
cocaine. 

It is entirely unfit for general use. Do not employ it, except 
as prescribed by the family physician. 



COCOA BUTTER— Oleum Theobromae. 

Cocoa Butter, as found in the stores, is in yellowish-white, flat, 
solid cakes. It does not "become rancid. 

Its chief use is as an excipient in the manufacture of supposi- 
tories, to which it is perfectly adapted on account of its melting at 
the temperature of the body. 

It might be used much more than it is for chapped hands, sore 
lips, and bruises, and as an inunction to reduce the temperature 
and quiet restlessness in eruptive fevers ; also during the scaling 
process of the declining stages of scarlet fever 

Cocoa butter is the most agreeable oil that can be used 
externally. 



COLCHICUM. 

Colchicum, or Meadow Saffron, is a native of the temperate 
portions of Europe ; the root, and occasionally the seeds, are used 
in medicine. 

The use of Colchicum is confined, almost exclusively, to the 
treatment of two diseases : rheumatism and gout. 

It is of great importance to know that colchicum, in over-doses, 
is poisonous; in large doses, does harm; and even in ordinary 
medicinal doses its effects should be watched, and discontinued 
if unpleasant symptoms occur. 

It is applicable to rheumatic and gouty persons who are other- 
wise robust, and it should never be given in doses large enough 
to produce nausea and purgation. It does the most good when it 
increases the action of the kidneys, augments perspiration, and 
promotes the flow of bile. 



COLLODION — COLTSFOOT COLUMBO. 463 

It is an extremely useful and potent remedy in the hands of the 
physician, and its use should be confined to his dictations. 

The best preparation is the Wine of Colchicum Root, dose, five to 
twenty drops, in water, three times daily, as ordered 'by the 
physician 



COLLODION-Collodium. 

Collodion consists of a solution of gun-cotton in ether. 

Flexible Collodion consists of the above with the addition 
of Canada turpentine and castor oil, and is to be preferred to the 
plain for surgical purposes. 

Solution of Gutta-Percha is gutta-percha dissolved in chloro- 
form. 

These preparations are sometimes called for, and the last two 
are elegant applications to chapped lips, cracked fingers and hands, 
small cuts, and skinned surfaces. 

They are applied by being painted on with a small brush, and 
allowed to dry. As the resulting film is waterproof their utility 
is apparent to all. 



COLTSFOOT— Tussil ago Farfara. 

An indigenous plant of America, growing in wet places ; has a 
reputation of being curative of catarrhal and bronchial affections. 

Coltsfoot Candy, a popular cough confection, has no doubt 
had much to do with popularizing this article. The candy is sold 
in lozenges at all drug stores, and, in effect, compares very 
favorably with most remedies of the kind. 

The root is somewhat mucilaginous and demulcent, and owes 
its virtue to its local effect. 

Decoction of Coltsfoot, made by boiling one or two ounces of the 
plant in a quart of water down to one pint, is the best mode of 
administration. It may be taken in teacupful doses several times 
a day for catarrh and bronchia*. 



COLUMBO-Calumbo. 

Columbo Root comes from South Africa and the East India 
Islands, and is found in the stores in the form of cross-section, 
shrunken pieces. The Fluid Extract and the Tincture are both 
eligible preparations. 



464 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Columbo is what is called a simple bitter. It increases the appe- 
tite, promotes the secretions of the stomach, and is well adapted 
to those cases where a simple appetizer and tonic are required. 
Unlike gentian, it may be added to preparations of Iron without 
turning them black. During convalescence and in delicate con- 
ditions of the system, it is very appropriate. As a tonic in con- 
sumption and hectic fever it is one of the best we have. 

The Fluid Extract is the best preparation for general use ; dose, 
five to twenty drops. The dose of the Tincture is one teaspoonful. 



COM FREY— Symphytum. 

The root of Comfrey is of European origin, but is cultivated in 
our gardens, and much used in domestic practice. 

It is mildly astringent, but quite mucilaginous, and is used as 
a demulcent drink to allay the irritation of cough, and as an ingre- 
dient of cough mixtures generally. 

It has no decided medicinal effect and is of little importance. 

It is generally one of the ingredients in household blood- 
purifiers, to which its presence adds consistency on account of the 
mucilage it contains. 



COMPOUND LICORICE POWDER-Pulvis Glycyrrhiza 
Compositus. 

Compound Licorice Powder is composed of senna, licorice 
root, fennel seed, washed sulphur, and sugar. It is well adapted 
as a domestic laxative. 

The main ingredient is the Senna, the other ingredients simply 
modifying and enhancing its action. 

When a bland, safe laxative is needed, nothing is more appro- 
priate than Compound Licorice Powder. The author has sold 
hundreds of pounds of it, and no laxative gives better satisfaction 
than this. 

The dose, as a laxative, is about a teaspoonful stirred in warm 
water. It may be taken at night or early in the morning. 

It is sometimes sold in lozenge form, in which shape it is con- 
venient for travelers. 



COPPER — CORIANDER SEEDS — ABSORBENT COTTON. 465 



COPPER— Cuprum. 

The preparations of copper are all poisonous, and but little used 
in medicine. 

Sulphate op Copper, Blue Stone, or Blue Vitriol, is found in 
the stores in bright blue crystals and in a pale blue powder ; the 
process of powdering changes the color somewhat. 

In overdoses it is a powerful irritant poison. 

It is sometimes given as an emetic in doses of five to eight 
grains. Ordinary dose, as a tonic and astringent, one-twentieth 
to one-sixth grain. In small doses it has been used as a tonic, 
nervine, and astringent. 

Locally, it is used to stimulate indolent ulcers and to remove 
proud flesh. A weak solution — one to three grains in one ounce 
of distilled or rose water — is often used as an eye-water in granular 
conjunctivitis. 

Rubbed on pure, it is one of the many remedies for warts. 

Verdigris, Impure Subacetate of Copper, is a pale, bluish green 
substance and very poisonous. Its use is confined to veterinary 
practice and it should always be handled with great care. 



CORIANDER SEEDS. 

These seeds are found in all drug stores, and are aromatic and 
carminative. Added to senna tea, they will largely disguise its 
disagreeable taste, and prevent its griping effect. 



ABSORBENT COTTON. 

This article, to be found in every drug store, might be used 
much more than it is to advantage. It is entirely free from dirt 
or other foreign matter, and unlike ordinary " raw cotton " it 
readily absorbs moisture. It is constantly employed in surgical 
practice ; and as a protective to wounds, burns, scalds, erysipelas, 
rheumatic swellings, etc., it will be found extremely useful. 

When it is desired that a blister heal rapidly there is no better 
application than absorbent cotton. A small quantity wound 
around the end of a wooden toothpick makes a capital instru- 
ment to wipe motes and other substances from the eye. 

Boratcd, Carbolatcd, and ^alkylated Cotton, iiud their special 
advantages in the hands of the physician. 



466 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



CREAM OF TARTAR— Bitartrate of Potassium. 

Pure Cream of Tartar exists in many vegetable juices, but the 
market is supplied from that formed in wine casks in the manu- 
facture of fermented grape wine. 

Cream of Tartar in small doses is cooling, diuretic, and laxative, 
well suited to the treatment of fevers. 

In combination with sulphur and other drugs, it is much used 
as a purifyiny laxative during the spring months, and the logic 
upon which its use is based is well founded. 

In fevers, it may be dissolved in hot water, sweetened, allowed 
to cool, and drank well-diluted. 

About a teaspoonful is a laxative dose, and a half ounce or more 
may be taken when a cathartic action is desired. It may be taken 
in molasses, or stirred in and washed down with water. 

A teaspoonful taken every four hours is said to be specially 
useful in arresting uterine hemorrhage. 

It is a very useful remedy in dropsy. For this disease one 
ounce should be dissolved in a pint of infusion of juniper berries, 
and the entire quantity taken in divided doses during the twenty- 
four hours, one-fourth at a time. Its taste is pleasantly disguised 
by taking it in lemonade. 



CREASOTE— Creasotum. 

Creasote is prepared from wood-tar, and is very similar in 
appearance and effect to carbolic acid, but its smell is much more 
smoky. It is said that much of the creasote sold in the drug 
stores is simply a solution of carbolic acid with enough of the 
former added to furnish its characteristic odor. 

Beechwood creasote is to be preferred for inhalations and 
internal use, and none other should be used in filling prescriptions. 
In overdoses it is a deadly poison. 

It is a valuable addition to cough mixtures. One-drop doses are 
said to relieve sea-sickness, and all forms of nausea and sick stomach 
are benefited by one drop of creasote every half hour, well diluted 
with water. 

In eczema, and scaly and itching skin diseases, it often proves 
beneficial when incorporated in ointment or with oil. 

It is a perfect substitute for carbolic acid as a remedy for 
toothache. 

Creasote is highly prized as an inhalant in nasal catarrh, pharyn- 
gitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, and lung diseases. There are various 



CULVER'S ROOT — DANDELION ROOT. 467 

apparatus for inhaling such substances procurable at every drug- 
store. Creasote, when breathed, acts as a local anodyne, sweetens 
the breath, and has an alterative effect upon the diseased mem- 
branes. 

The utility of creasote is well demonstrated in smoked meat, as 
it is the creasote which penetrates the meat and prevents decom- 
position. 

CULVER'S ROOT-Leptandra. 

This plant, also known as Black Root, grows in all parts of the 
United States, and flowers in July and August. 

At first with the Eclectics, and since by a large number of the 
members of other schools, Leptandrin has been considered of 
great value in torpidity of the liver. It is regarded by some as a 
sort of " vegetable calomel," and has been used in biliousness, 
chronic constipation, jaundice, torpid liver, and for that long list of 
symptoms which indicate what is commonly called " Liver Com- 
plaint." 

An active principle is sold in powder form under the name 
Leptandrin ; — dose, one-half to three grains — which is an excellent 
addition to cathartic pills. 

Fluid Extract of Leptandra ; dose, fifteen drops to one teaspoonful, 
is perhaps the most reliable preparation, and is a valuable addition 
to other cathartics when a special action is needed upon the liver. 



DANDELION ROOT-Taraxacum. 

The root of Dandelion, which grows spontaneously in most 
parts of the world, has the reputation of possessing power to act 
on the liver and purify the blood. During the past few years it 
has been much used in both domestic and professional practice 
for these purposes. So much patronage entitles it to some recog- 
nition, yet its influence is very limited, and it must be taken for 
a long time to produce curative effects. It forms a valuable 
addition to blood-pur i lying compounds and liver regulators. 

Cream of tartar forms with it an excellent spring laxative. 

It is sometimes mixed with coffee, which disguises its taste, and 
it has been used alone as a substitute for coffee. 

Dyspepsia, jaundice, constipation, and catarrhal conditions, de- 
pendent upon a morbid condition of the liver, are cases in which 
it has been most useful. Muddy complexions and liver spots are 
often remedied by its use. 



468 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

The Fluid Extract is the best preparation ; dose, one-quarter to 
one teaspoonful. 

The Solid Extract is often combined with other remedies in 
pills ; dose, one to three grains. 



"DIET CURES." 

The prevention as well as the cure of disease by the regulation 
of the diet, or by abstinence, are measures which are within the 
reach of all who have sufficient self-restraint to use them. 

It cannot be denied that many diseases are the result of eating 
or drinking too much, eating or drinking the wrong kind of food, 
or eating or drinking at improper hours. 

Most people have dyspepsia in some of its forms ; not distinctly 
enough, perhaps, to assert itself as an individual affection, but suffi- 
cient to excite and encourage predisposing weaknesses, whatever 
they may be. Chronic sores, catarrhal conditions, skin diseases, 
nervous derangements — in fact, all physical disorders are directly 
and closely related to the digestion. The " general health" is 
little else than the condition of the digestive apparatus. Man is 
regarded as an omnivorous animal, that is, he can " partake of 
every kind of food indiscriminately." This does not mean that 
he may eat to repletion of every kind of food — far from it. It 
recognizes the fact that man should intelligently partake of a 
proper quantity only, of such food as he requires, either animal 
or vegetable. People are extremely careless about their diet, and 
modern cooking has kept a deaf ear to the claims of health. 

Most of the " Diet Cures " consist of confining the diet to one 
article, as milk, grapes, etc., and continuing the restriction until 
a decided change is wrought in the whole system. Simple regu- 
lation of the diet is universally advised in connection with the 
treatment of disease. 

THE GRAPE CURE. 

The " Grape Cure," which has been practiced to a considerable 
extent in France and Germany, has never had much of a fol- 
lowing in this country. It consists of subsisting entirely upon 
grapes, with the exception of bread and water, during the five or 
six weeks' duration of the grape-crop. It is usual to begin with 
one pound and increase the amount to four, six, or eight pounds 
a day. The last-named amount not to be exceeded. The first 
repast is taken early in the morning, at which time they should 
be freely eaten. The second is taken about the usual hour for 
breakfast, and the third at noon, to which is added bread and 



DIGITALIS. 469 

water ; another in the evening, and finally, just before retiring. 
Grapes are lacking in nitrogenous material, which the bread sup- 
plies. 

" The grape cure is used with success in plethora of the portal 
circulation, diarrhoea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, and engorgement of the 
spleen." It often proves of great service in scrofula, consumption, 
gout, and shin affections. 

Those who attempt to test its virtues should not make a hobby 
of it, to the exclusion of hygienic measures. A change of air, 
plenty of sleep, moderate exercise, and rational habits, will en- 
hance the virtues of the treatment. 



THE MILK CURE. 

" Milk Cure," "Koumiss Cure" and "Buttermilk Cure," are all quite 
similar. Milk and buttermilk are better adapted to continued use 
than koumiss. The "cure" consists of an exclusive milk diet. 
The daily amount taken is from one to two quarts, in divided 
amounts, about four hours apart, and is slightly warmed. In 
some stomach and bowel disorders, skimmed milk is to be pre- 
ferred ; and in diabetes, buttermilk is more especially indicated. 
The treatment has been used with marked success in chronic 
stomach and bowel affections, such as dyspepsia, gastric catarrh, 
ulcer of the stomach, chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. Obstinate 
skin diseases are often rendered curable by a resort to a milk diet. 
Albuminuria, diabetes, and gout, are greatly benefited by this 
method. One unfortunate complication usually met with in this 
treatment is the obstinate constipation, which an exclusive milk 
diet brings on. This must be overcome by appropriate remedies. 
It should also be stated that a resort to an exclusive diet of milk 
causes a loss of flesh, and sometimes marked debility results. It 
is always best to practice the system under the supervision of a 
medical adviser. 



DIGITALIS. 

Digitalis or Foxglove is cultivated in American gardens, but the 
best quality for medicinal purposes grows wild in Europe, where 
it is indigenous. 

Digitalin, the active principle of Digitalis, is sometimes pre- 
scribed ; but, as a rule, it possesses no advantage over the ordi- 
nary tincture. 

Digitalis is a heart tonic, and is used more than any other 



470 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

remedy for heart disease. It slows the action of the heart when 
beating too rapidly, and quiets it when beating irregularly. 

When dropsy results from heart derangement, digitalis often acts 
most happily. Squills is often combined with it in dropsical affec- 
tions. 

In palpitation, dilatation, enlargement, and valvular disease of the 
heart — it is universally prescribed, yet it requires an unusual 
amount of skill, even of a professional sort, to administer it to the 
best advantage. It should be given to produce definite results, 
which a trained physician only can appreciate. 

In some cases of asthma, attended with a quick pulse and heart 
complications, it is the best of all remedies. 

During the declining stages of scarlet fever it is specially useful 
if there are dropsical tendencies. It will sometimes control the 
high temperature of scarlet and typhoid fevers better than any- 
thing else. 

When such diseases as rheumatism and scarlet fever threaten to 
attack the heart, no medicine is more appropriate than digitalis. 

Short-winded persons, who are troubled with chronic cough, are 
benefited by its use in small doses. The tendency to faint, following 
the loss of blood, is controlled by its careful use. 

Dose of the Tincture from five to twenty drops as prescribed. 



DOGWOOD— Cornus Florida. 

Dogwood is found in abundance in most parts of the United 
States. The bark has a well-deserved reputation as a remedy for 
malaria. 

It is probably the best substitute we have for Peruvian bark or 
Quinine in chills and fever ; but, in making this comparison, I still 
hold that Peruvian bark and its preparations are quite superior to 
dogwood bark. 

Aside from its antiperiodic virtues, it is a bitter tonic, and is often 
used with advantage as such in malarious districts. 

It sometimes irritates the stomach and disorders the digestion, 
in which case its use should be modified. 

The decoction is made by adding one pint boiling water to one 
ounce of the dried bark. 

Dose, one or two tablespoonfuls three or four times a day. 



EFFERVESCENT SALTS ELECAMPANE. 471 



EFFERVESCENT SALTS. 

A large variety of medicines and compounds are now sold in 
drug stores in granular or powder form, which contain an acid and 
alkali, and which effervesce when placed in water. They are known 
as Effervescent Salts. They should always be kept in a dry place 
and well corked. The list of medicines put up in this form in- 
cludes citrate of magnesia, epsom salts, phosphate of soda ; mix- 
tures styled "liver salts" or "laxative salts;" rheumatism reme- 
dies containing lithia, salicylic acid or salicylates ; artificial min- 
eral spring salts such as Kissengen, Carlsbad, Vichy, Crab Or- 
chard, etc. There are also many secret or patent remedies on 
the market put up in this form. 

A chief object of this form of compounding is to render medi- 
cines agreeable to the taste and easy to take. Otherwise they 
possess little or no advantage over the plain drug. So prepared 
the cost is greatly increased and in buying reliable brands should 
be selected. 

Effervescent Tablets are also now much used, containing 
various medicines and which effervesce when placed in a tumbler 
of water. They form a very convenient method of using medi- 
cines, especially when travelling. 

During recent years the country has been flooded with effer- 
vescent headache remedies, most of them containing acetanilid 
and other synthetic drugs, and while they give temporary relief, 
their habitual use cannot be too strongly condemned. Their at- 
tractive appearance and agreeable taste seem to hide the fact that 
they are loaded with dope. 



ELECAMPANE-Inula. 

Elecampane root, or Scabwort, grows throughout the United 
States, and has been much used in domestic practice. The root 
should be gathered in the spring or autumn. It is somewhat 
stimulant and tonic in its action, but its influence is very feeble, 
and has scarcely deserved the patronage it has received. 

It is supposed to increase the action of the various abdominal 
organs, but when given it is usually combined with other and 
more active remedies. The powder and Fluid Extract can both be 
procured. 



472 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



ELECTRICITY. 

Electricity, in its various forms, is one of the most important 
and useful remedial agents at our command. Its manifestations 
are, however, so intricate, the popular knowledge concerning it so 
vague, and its use so abused by those who are ignorant of its real 
nature, that it has failed to occupy that place in the treatment of 
disease which its real merits should give it. Modern research and 
careful study are rapidly giving it a broad and varied range of 
application, and as an aid in both diagnosis and treatment, its 
employment rests upon a rational and practical basis. 

Electricity is a subject, an explanation of which requires ex- 
tended elaboration, and in a book of this kind it is impossible to 
explain in detail the laws which govern its action or the phe- 
nomena connected with its behavior while being manipulated. 
The nomenclature of electrical science has been very loose and 
vague, and the language of the various writers upon the subject 
has not been clear and tangible to the ordinary mind. 

The three forms in which it is most commonly employed are : — 

1. Friction or Static Electricity. 

2. Galvanic Electricity. 

3. Farad ic Electricity. 

Friction Electricity is used chiefly in giving the Electric Bath. 
The patient is placed upon an insulated stool and is charged with 
negative or positive electricity from the conductor, according to 
the desire of the manipulator. 

Galvanic Electricity is developed by chemical decomposition, and 
is known as Voltaic or battery current. It is generated by sus- 
pending two elements, such as zinc and copper, or zinc and carbon, 
in an exciting fluid called battery fluid. The current which passes 
from the oxidizing metal is known as the positive current ; that 
in the opposite direction as the negative current. The latter, how- 
ever, is seldom considered. 

Faradic Electricity, or Faradism, is produced by means of electro- 
magnetic machines. Such an apparatus consists practically of 
one or two cups, the elements being connected by two coils of 
wire, one of which excites and intensifies the other. 

The galvanic current is more penetrating than the Faradic, but 
the latter produces greater contraction of the muscles, and acts 
more powerfully upon the nerves. 

It is a fact clearly demonstrated that electrical force pervades 
all finite space, and that its presence is essential to life ; indeed, 
the hypothesis has been assumed that life and electricity are 
identical. It cannot be accepted, however, as anything more 



ELECTRICITY. 473 

than a necessary element of vital force, as are water and air. 
When applied to muscular fibre recently deprived of life, it 
causes contractions more or less marked, showing that it is quite 
similar, at least, to the nervous impulses which control volition. 

From a medical standpoint, electricity is a stimulant and 
tonic to nerve force and motion, and is well adapted to the treat- 
ment of a number of diseases, characterized by weakened nerves, 
flaccid muscles and impaired vigor. 

Most cases of neuralgia are benefited, and many cases com- 
pletely cured, by the proper use of electricity. No case of sciatica 
or facial neuralgia should be allowed to continue long, without 
giving electricity a trial. Pain, when due to nerve derangements, 
is relieved more certainly by an electric current, than by any 
other plan of treatment, if applied by a skilled practitioner. 

There is a large class of chronic nervous affections, in the treat- 
ment of which electricity is specially indicated. Among these 
may be mentioned hysteria in its various forms, St. Vitus's dance, 
epilepsy, nervous dyspepsia, some cases of asthma, and almost the 
entire list of chronic functional disorders. 

Mental derangements, such as mania, melancholia, impaired 
memory, and wakefulness, are often improved by the use of 
electricity. 

In the chronic forms of paralysis, i. e., after the acute symptoms 
have subsided, it is perhaps the best remedy we have. The wrist 
drop resulting from lead poisoning ; urinary suppression or incon- 
tinence due to palsy of the local organs ; constipation resulting 
from a relaxed condition of the bowels ; the loss of voice accom- 
panying paralysis of the vocal cords, are all — except the first 
named — more apt to be benefited by electricity than by any other 
agent. 

The various distressing symptoms peculiar to women, especially 
when no organic disease exists, are often entirely removed 
by the proper use of the battery. Many skin affections of a 
chronic and obstinate nature are due to nervous disorders, for 
which electricity is often applied with the best results. Bed-sores 
and other indolent ulcers are often successfully treated as follows : 
Hammer out a silver coin until it is thin and flexible and about 
the size of the ulcer ; cut a piece of zinc of equal size and connect 
the two by a piece of copper wire several inches long. Cleanse 
the sore and adjust the silver film to its surface; dampen two 
thicknesses of canton flannel with vinegar and place upon the 
healthy skin near by ; on this place the zinc and secure the whole 
in place by a bandage. The acid of the vinegar acts on the zinc 
and sets up a mild electrical current. The zinc should be moist- 



474 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

ened with vinegar three or four times during twenty-four hours, 
and the appliance may be kept on for a week : the zinc plate 
should be removed to a new territory every day or two. This 
treatment will often invite healthy granulations where nature has 
abandoned the effort at repair. 

Electricity furnishes the best method at our command to remove 
superfluous hairs. To perform the operation, attach a sharp sew- 
ing needle to the negative pole of a five-celled battery, and let the 
patient grasp the positive electrode. Pass the point of the needle 
down alongside of each hair until it surely reaches the hair 
follicle. Within a few seconds, according to the strength of the 
current, a minute quantity of - white foam will appear alongside 
the needle. The needle should remain in place from ten to 
twenty seconds. After each hair has been treated in this manner 
it may be easily removed with tweezers, and will never return. 

The use of electricity in medicine and surgery is rapidly gain- 
ing favor, its utility becoming apparent in most every direction. 
In the hands of the surgeon, the galvano-cautery has supplanted 
the use of the knife in a large class of operations. 

When an electric battery is needed, it is always best to secure 
it of a manufacturer of unquestionable standing, as there is much 
apparatus advertised that is worthless. Druggists are usually in 
communication with reliable instrument-makers, and are sure to 
furnish a good machine. Beware of those who advertise various 
electrical appliances through the newspapers and the mails. 
Electric belts, charms, trusses, pads, brushes, etc., are generally 
catch-penny affairs. Most, if not all of them, simply contain a 
magnet, which has no effect whatever upon the human organism. 
It remains to be said that the use of electricity in medicine is a 
science, and requires skill and a knowledge of anatomy, physi- 
ology, and pathology, to intelligently apply it. It is not enough 
to be able to adjust a battery and " make it go," intensify the cur- 
rent, and produce a " shock " — these things demonstrate the 
novelty, and not the practical utility of electric batteries. The 
violent use of electricity has no doubt wrought much injury. It 
is not suited to indiscriminate use, and should never be employed 
unless there exists intelligent reasons for so doing. 

An experienced physician or reliable specialist should have a 
careful oversight of each individual case in which it is employed ; 
and to their judgment should be left such questions, as to the 
kind of battery needed ; the proper strength of current ; the 
locality at which the electrodes should be applied ; the time and 
length of each individual treatment, and suggestions of such 
other remedies as will secure the best results. 



SLIPPERY ELM — ERGOT. 475 



SLIPPERY ELM-Ulmus. 

Elm Bark is derived from the red elm which grows throughout 
the Middle and Northern States. It is sold in the stores in three 
forms : whole, ground, and powdered. 

Elm bark is nutritious and very mucilaginous. Mucilage, or Tea 
made from it, may be drank with benefit in inflammatory and 
irritable conditions of the stomach and bowels. It is often of bene- 
fit in kidney and urinary difficulties, especially those of a painful 
character. 

Mucilage of Elm is made by adding one pint of boiling water 
to one ounce of choice, sliced bark, and strained after remain- 
ing covered for two hours. This may be drank ad libitum in 
diarrhoea, dysentery and other affections requiring mucilaginous 
drinks. 

Elm Bark Poultice, made by adding boiling hot water to 
powdered or ground elm bark, forms an excellent application to 
irritated surfaces where a poultice is needed. 

Chewing slippery elm bark is said to be destructive of tape- 
worm, and it has been advocated by a few physicians for this 
purpose, but more pronounced agents are generally required. 



ERGOT. 

Ergot is a complex substance obtained from diseased rye. 

When swallowed, it produces contraction of certain muscular 
fibre, and is used more than any other drug to stop internal 
hemorrhages. 

It should always be used in internal bleedings where external 
remedies cannot be applied. 

Bleedings from the lungs, nose, or gums, are often controlled by its 
internal use. A young man of my acquaintance was troubled 
with pulmonary hemorrhages for years, and always controlled 
them by one or two full doses of fluid extract of ergot. He car- 
ried a small bottle of it in his pocket in order to be ready at any 
time to suppress the bleeding. 

It is universally used in the treatment of uterine hemorrhage. 
Menorrhagia is usually regulated by it, and in the hands of the 
accoucheur it is indispensable for the various hemorrhages 
attending childbirth. 

The night sivcats of consumption are often greatly lessened by the 
use of ergot. The only preparation of ergot in general use is the 
fluid extract — dose, one or two teaspoonfuls. 



476 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



EUCALYPTUS-Eucalyptus Globulus. 

Eucalyptus enjoys great favor with the profession as a remedy 
of much' merit in a variety of diseases. 

Like most remedies of the kind, it increases the secretions of the 
body, and carries with it morbid or unhealthy conditions. 

Dyspepsia, attended with a catarrhal condition of the stomach 
and bowels, is much benefited by Eucalyptus. 

Chronic bronchial and nasal catarrh, attended with expectoration, 
are often very much improved by it. 

In chronic bladder difficulties it is often of great service. 

By many it is considered a specific for chronic malaria, and while 
it is of undoubted virtue, its value is much less than Quinine in 
" breaking " the fever and ague. In chronic malaria, which 
seems to resist usual treatment, Eucalyptus should be tried. 

Locally, diluted with water, it is a good application to old and 
indolent ulcers. 

Lozenges of Eucalyptus are of service in bronchial and throat 
difficulties, but they are not found in all stores. 

Dose of the Fluid Extract, five to forty drops. 

Fluid Extract of Eucalyptus, added to water, disinfects foul- 
smelling and ill-conditioned ulcers and wounds, and may be used as 
a wash wherever there is an unhealthy or offensive discharge. 

Oil of Eucalyptus is being much used in catarrhal and pul- 
monary affections, and may be taken in doses of from one to five 
drops on sugar, in capsules, or in emulsion. 

It is much used in inhaling mixtures, and by many is preferred 
to creasote, tar, or terebene. 



EYE-BRIGHT-Euphrasia. 

Tincture of Eye-bright is a remedy of recognized value in the 
early stage of a " cold," where there is profuse running at the nose. 
Five drops in water every two hours is often remarkable in its 
effect. It may be used with good results in the catarrhal stage of 
hay-fever. 

FATS. 

Common Lard, Mutton Suet, Tallow, Goose Grease, Cocoa- 
nut Oil, and Cocoa Butter are useful medicinal agents when 
properly utilized. We might add to the list, very appropriately, 
sweet oil, olive oil, cod-liver oil, castor oil, lanolin, sweet almond oil, 
petrolatum, vaseline, cosmoline and glycerine. 



PISH BERftlES. 477 

"When fresh, pure and sweet, these fatty and oily substances, 
when applied to the skin, fill several important functions. 

1. They penetrate the skin and add to the bodily nutrition. 

2. They soften the skin and render it soft and pliable. 

3. They protect the surface of the skin from the atmosphere. 

4. They tend to reduce heat and remove inflammation. 

To use the right one for the purpose it best fills requires intel- 
ligent judgment. 

The most penetrating are cod-liver oil, common lard, cocoanut 
oil, lanolin, olive oil, and goose grease, and the first two named 
are the best adapted when it is desired to impart nutrition, as in 
consumption, scrofula, and rickets. 

The most desirable ones to soften the skin are, perhaps, almond 
oil, suet, tallow, cocoa butter, and glycerine (which should be 
diluted one-half with water). 

The best protectees are vaseline, cosmoline, and petroleum jelly. 

To reduce heat and inflammations, lard, suet, tallow, olive oil and 
vaseline are used more than the others. 

All fats and oils, when they become rancid or strong, are not 
only offensive to the sense of smell, but are irritating to the 
skin. 

Animal fats, especially lard and cod-liver oil, are apt to become 
rancid ; in which case they should be discarded. 

Lard containing salt should never be applied to the skin. 

Mutton suet, goose grease and some others are supposed to pos- 
sess special virtues; they, however, are no better than fats in 
general, but are less apt to become rancid. 

Benzoin has the power of preventing rancidity, and this 
explains why the druggist keeps " benzoated " lard, and various 
ointments compounded with it. 

Dog oil, angle-worm oil, slcunh oil, etc., are occasionally called 
for at drug stores, and they have always had a reputation in some 
localities as possessing special virtues when applied to stiff joints, 
painful muscles and for chronic rheumatism. They were for- 
merly "made," but the Pure Food Law requires them to be genu- 
ine if they are so labeled and sold as such. 



FISH BERRIES— Cocculus Indicus. 

These berries as found in the stores are about the size of a large 
pea and of a dusky, blackish color. The berries, and all prepar- 
ations made from them, are poisonous. 

The active principle, Picrotoxin, and the tincture, are both some- 
times used. 



478 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Sometimes the berries are steeped and the decoction used to 
destroy head-lice ; a better plan however is to have a druggist rub 
about four grains of Picrotoxin in four drachms of lard, which 
should be applied sparingly to the head. 



FLAXSEED. 
FLAXSEED MEAL. 

Flaxseed Tea is made by infusing an ounce of whole seeds in 
one quart of boiling water. It is a useful mucilaginous drink, 
well suited to cases of catarrh, dysentery, affections of tlte kidneys and 
bladder, lungs and intestines. 

Flaxseed Lemonade is made as follows. Pour one quart of 
boiling water on two ounces of whole flaxseed and let it steep for 
three hours; pour off the clear liquid, add the juice of two lemons 
and sweeten to taste. Cool and add ice if desirable. Useful in 
coughs and colds, and well worthy of being frequently employed. 

Two or three whole flaxseed are sometimes dropped into the eye 
at bedtime to remove foreign substances. Their use in this way 
is harmless, but a diligent search for such substances will usually 
render the use of flaxseed and eye-stones unnecessary. 

Ground Flaxseed makes the best poultice, perhaps, of any 
substance. It should be recently ground and free from rancid 
odor. 

FRUITS AS MEDICINES. 

A knowledge of the composition of the various kinds of fruits 
and their action upon the system is very important. The proper 
and timely use of fruit will often admirably supplant the use of 
drugs. 

Only a short time since a professional gentleman informed me 
that for years he was a great sufferer from constipation, and spent 
years of time and much money seeking relief through the use of 
medicine, but finally was completely cured by eating one or two 
apples every morning before breakfast. 

Fruits vary greatly in their chemical composition, and also in 
their physiological action upon the system. Many fruits are acid, 
while other kinds contain sugar and are highly nutritious ; some 
are laxative, and other varieties contain tannin and are somewhat 
constipating. Some fruits are bland and soothing to the intesti- 
nal tract, while other kinds are irritating and grating to the mem- 
branes of the stomach. 



GALLS — TANNIN — GALLIC ACID. 479 

Apples are rich in phosphorus, and the acids which they contain 
are exceedingly useful in adding tone to the stomach, liver, and 
intestinal digestion. 

There are scientific reasons for eating apple sauce with meats. 

Apples, peaches, pears, prunes, figs, and tamarinds are all laxa- 
tive, and most cases of constipation might be overcome by a judi- 
cious use of these fruits. 

Prunes are quite laxative, and their use is to be commended to 
those of a constipated habit. A small quanity of senna leaves 
may be added to them while cooking, without destroying their 
flavor, but greatly enhancing their laxative qualities. 

It is an old saying that " To eat an apple going to bed, the 
doctor then will beg his bread," but I think, as a rule, in the 
morning is the best time to eat fruit, especially if it is raw. 
Another old saying is ; " Fruit in the morning is gold, at noon 
silver, and at night lead." I believe that most people would feel 
better if they ate less fruit at night, and more before breakfast. 

A brilliant writer remarks : " Feast on Fruits ! Would that 
this could be a motto upon the wall of every dining room in the 
land !" . . . " Don't stint the supply of sauce dishes. Use large 
saucers and not only once full, but twice or thrice full at every 
meal. Acid fruits are preferable. They are the staple, and, 
properly prepared, one never tires of them. The acid of the fruit 
is largely oxygen, and uniting with the carbon of other food, in 
this way assists in digestion. For constipation, some of the dried 
fruits well-cooked are valuable. Of these, peaches, plums, prunes, 
apricots, etc., that are rich in hydrocyanic acid, are most valuable. 
Never prepare a meal without some form of fruit. Take half the 
money you put in meat and lard and purchase fruit. You will 
get interest and principal returned in health for yourself, in rosy, 
buoyant children, and noticeable absence of doctor's fees." 



GALLS-Galla. 

TANNIN-TANNIC ACID-Acidum Tannicum. 

GALLIC ACID— Acidum Gallicum. 

There is so little difference, from a medicinal standpoint, between 
powdered nut-gulls, tannic acid, and gallic acid, that they may be 
considered under one head. 

Tannin is found in the barks of many trees, but that employed 
in medicine is principally from an abnormal excrescence, caused 
by an insect piercing the bark of the oak. 

Tannin has a bitter, astringent taste. It is the astringent prill- 



480 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

ciple in oak-bark, also of catechu, kino, krameria, logwood, black- 
berry, and many other plants. These substances are employed 
in medicine on account of their astringency, due to the presence 
of tannin. 

The only use to which powdered nut-galls are put, is as an 
ingredient of p ile-ointments. 

Tannin is a powerful astringent, when locally applied, and 
hardens the tissues. It is used locally to stop bleeding, as it coagu- 
lates blood immediately. It is used as a mouth wash for spongy 
gums, and as a gargle in relaxed conditions of the throat and palate. 

A solution of tannin is used to harden parts of the body ex- 
posed to friction, such as tender feet and sore nipples, and as a 
lotion to prevent bed-sores. 

In excessive discharges, such as leucorrhcea, chronic ulcers, and 
excessive perspiration, it may be used to advantage. 

Yet, there are objections to its continual employment for these 
purposes. 

Glycerole of Tannin, mentioned under the head of glycerine, is 
an extremely useful article, and is worthy of a wider notice than 
it has received. 

GARLIC-Allium. 

Garlic is found in the stores tied in bundles, very much resem- 
bling onions in appearance. 

They are employed considerably in domestic practice, in 
catarrhal troubles, especially in children, and in flatulent or wind 
dyspepsia. 

The garlic may be taken in substance. They are in sections, 
and the bulbs are called " cloves," one or more of which may be 
eaten as a dose. 

The Syrup of Garlic is well suited to children, who may take 
one teaspoonful as a dose. 



GENTIAN-Gentiana. 

Gentian grows among the various mountainous regions of 
Europe. 

The root is the part used, and it is found in the stores in crooked, 
shriveled pieces, very bitter to the taste. 

Gentian is one of the best bitter tonics we have, and is constantly 
employed in stomach derangements. In dyspepsia, especially with 
gouty tendencies, liver disorders, jaundice, malaria, general debility, 
loss of appetite, and anaemia, it will be found extremely useful. 






GINGER — GLYCERINE. 481 

When long continued, it sometimes deranges the stomach. 

It may be taken in substance, i.e., the root may be chewed, as I 
have known many persons to do with good effect. 

The best preparation is, perhaps, the Compound Tincture; dose, 
one-half to one teaspoonful. The Fluid Extract is also an excellent 
form in which to take it ; dose, ten to twenty drops in water. 

The compound tincture is an excellent vehicle in which to take 
cod-liver oil. 

Gentian enters into the formation of various pills, of which the 
Compound Gentian Pills are very valuable. 

If it is desired that the appetite should be improved, gentian 
should be taken just before eating ; if to improve the digestion, it 
should be taken after eating. 



GINGER. 

There are two varieties of Ginger, the African and the Jamaica. 

The former is used principally in cooking, and the latter in 
medicine. 

It is pungent, stimulant, and aromatic, and much used in bowel 
disorders attended with flatulence and pain. 

Tincture of Jamaica Ginger, commonly called " Essence of Jamaica 
Ginger," or simply " Jamaica Ginger," is much used in summer 
as a corrective in bowel disorders, and much more is sold to supply 
the craving for alcoholic liquors. It is very acceptable to the 
ordinary toper, and there are many who depend upon it entirely 
as a daily grog. Its sale should be under legal restrictions. 

There is a number of proprietary brands of " Jamaica Ginger " 
on the market, all claiming great superiority over others. My 
experience is that Jones can make just as good an article as 
Brown, and no doubt will furnish goods just as reasonably. That 
made by the druggist is usually the best to be procured. 

Properly used, it is a very excellent stimulant carminative in 
cases of flatulent colic. 

Ginger tea often renders excellent service as a stomach warmer 
in cramps and pains of various kinds. It is made by adding hot 
water to powdered ginger and sweetening with sugar, if desired. 



GLYCERINE. 

This article is so common as to need no description here. It is 
a by-product in the manufacture of soap and other fatty com- 
pounds. It is a clear, heavy, syrupy, sweetish liquid, soluble in 

31 



482 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

both water and alcohol. To say that glycerine is " fat deprived 
of its fat " is not far from a technical definition. 

Glycerine has been used considerably as an internal remedy, 
but aside from its power of making some other medicines more 
eligible for use, it has no standing as a remedial agent. 

It has been suggested and used by some as a substitute for Cod- 
Liver Oil in chronic lung diseases, but it has not maintained its 
former reputation for this purpose. It is an excellent vehicle to 
disguise the taste of Castor Oil, Tincture of Iron, and some other 
distasteful medicines. It seems to envelop other substances and 
to protect the palate from contact with them. The principal use 
to which glycerine is put, is as an external application. It should, 
however, never be used without diluting. It has a strong affinity 
for moisture, and unless diluted, it will absorb the moisture from 
the surface to which it is applied and produce irritation. Much 
of the glycerine used in this way does more harm than good. 

Rose Water and Glycerine, equal parts of each, is an elegant prepa- 
ration where a softening application is called for. Extract of 
Witch-Hazel may be used instead of rose water. 

Properly diluted, it is an excellent application for chapped 
hands, excoriations, sore nipples, and various skin diseases, but it is 
not agreeable to all skins. 

As it dissolves the wax in the ear, it is a good application where 
that substance has become hardened. It may be introduced by 
saturating cotton with it and inserting it in the ear. 

Added to poultices, it will cause them to retain their heat and 
moisture, much longer than they otherwise would. 

Teaspoonful doses of glycerine after meals are said to prevent 
acidity of the stomach. 

Glycerine and Borax rubbed together are better than borax and 
honey for sore mouth. 

Glycerole of Tannin, sold by druggists, is a good astringent, 
well adapted as a local application to frosted feet, sore nipples, and 
enlarged tonsils. 

GOLD— Aurum. 

This valuable metal is sometimes used as a medicine. 

Chloride of Gold and Sodium is the most eligible preparation, 
dose -^ to -£$ grain in pill form. It is said to promote the appe- 
tite, improve the digestion, and exercise a marked influence upon 
the brain and nerves. It produces a feeling of well-being and 
increases the mental force. 

It has occasionally been used in chronic gastric catarrh, melan- 
cholia, dyspepsia, nervous exhaustion, and sexual weaknesses. 



GOLDENSEAL. 483 

It has been strongly urged as a " cure" for Chronic Alcoholism, 
but we fear it will fail to prove as efficacious as its enthusiastic 
champions "would have us believe. It was recommended a few 
years ago for this purpose, but failed to gain any extended recog- 
nition at that time. 



GOLDENSEAL— Hydrastis Canadensis. 

Hydrastis or Yellow Root, commonly called Goldenseal, is a 
remedy of great value, and is used both internally and as an ex- 
ternal application. 

In that peculiar condition of the mucous membrane known as 
catarrh it is one of our best remedies. This assertion holds good, 
no matter where the morbid condition exists; whether it is a 
catarrhal condition of the nose, throat, stomach, bowels, bladder, 
urinary, or generative organs. 

In nasal catarrh, it can be used with the atomizer, or as a gargle 
for the th coat. In chronic catarrh of the stomach and bowels, 
known as "gastrointestinal catarrh," it may be taken internally. 

The fluid extract may be diluted for these purposes, but a 
" Fluid Hydrastis" is sold in the stores, which is colorless, and for 
this reason is preferred to the dark fluid extract for external use. 

Hydrastis rates next to quinine, in the minds of many, as a 
remedy for malaria, and, as it is an excellent tonic and directly 
indicated in those morbid conditions which malaria causes, it is 
always wise to use it as secondary to quinine, especially in the 
treatment of intermittent fever, and malarial diseases generally. 

The active principle, Hydrastine, is a very valuable remedy, but 
unfortunately, it is not always of the same strength. It is a yel- 
low powder, and the dose is from one to three grains. It is sold 
in the form of Sulphate of Hydra&tm. 

In dyspepsia with torpid liver, variable appetite, with catarrhal ten- 
dencies, it should be given an extended trial. 

The fluid extract is the preferable preparation for internal use, 
and may be given in doses of from five to thirty drops in water. 

Externally, it has been used with success as an alterative stimu- 
lant to old sores and ulcers, and for this purpose may be used one 
teaspoonful to the pint of water. 

The regular fluid extract stains linen, and, as an external wash 
or lotion, the colorless is always preferred. 

Two grains of sulphate of hydrastin, dissolved in one ounce of 
rose water, form an excellent eye wash for sore eyes and granu- 
lated lids. 



484 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



GOLD THREAD-Coptis Trifolia. 

Gold Thread, Yellow Boot, Canker Root, or Mouth Root is found 
in the northern part of both continents, in low, wet places. As 
found in the stores it is in thread-like, yellow roots matted 
together, with the tops and leaves intermixed. 

It is a bitter tonic, very similar in its action to quassia, and is 
applicable to all cases where quassia might be prescribed. 

In some localities it is used to make a mouth wash and gargle, 
but any special virtue for these purposes is to be doubted. 

An infusion may be made by adding one pint of water to one 
ounce of the root ; dose, a tablespoonful or more. 



UNFERMENTED GRAPE JUICE. 

Pure Grape Juice, commonly called Unfermented Wine, attracts 
increasing attention as a remedy for the cure of disease and as an 
article of diet. It is made by pressing the juice from selected 
grapes, which is brought to the boiling point to sterilize it ; while 
hot, it is transferred to bottles and hermetically sealed. Some- 
times salicylic acid, sulphite of lime,, or other antiferment is added 
to prevent fermentation, but these things are not only objection- 
able, but if the juice is properly manipulated their use is un- 
necessary. 

The composition of pure grape juice is very similar to that of 
human milk ; it is extremely delicious to the palate, grateful and 
refreshing to the stomach, and invigorating, wholesome, and 
nutritious. 

During continued fevers, low states of the system, convalescence, 
and nervous prostration, it is an invaluable food and medicine 
combined. In chronic derangements of the stomach and bowels, 
due to altered secretions, the use of Grape Juice will prove highly 
useful. 

When properly prepared it is non-alcoholic, and can be used in 
any quantity, for any length of time, by any one without inducing 
an appetite for strong drink. There are few instances, indeed — 
perhaps none — where it is not to be preferred to alcoholic liquors, 
no matter what the disease or the condition of the patient may be. 
When the nutrition of the sick is considered, I know of nothing 
— milk excepted — so unobjectionable, on the one hand, and 
nothing so likely to be a benefit, on the other, as Pure, Unfer- 
mented Grape Juice. 

We may reasonably hope to see the use of Unfermented Grape 



GBINDELIA — GUARANA. 485 

Juice become a potent factor in solving the Temperance Ques- 
tion. If a substitute be required for alcoholic liquors when they 
are abandoned, it must be conceded at once that Grape Juice fully 
meets very important requirements. It is claimed that drinking 
milk freely will destroy the appetite for alcoholic liquors. If this 
be true — milk and Grape Juice being quite similar in composition 
— it is but reasonable to suppose that if the use of Grape Juice 
becomes general it will tend to prevent and counteract the pre- 
vailing taste and desire for alcoholic beverages. 

The Christian Church is rapidly adopting the use of Unfer- 
mented Wine, instead of the fermented, at communion services, 
and it is a much needed and wholesome reform. The pure juice 
of the grape supplies, in every respect, the emblematical signifi- 
cance of this ordinance, and if the Church unnecessarily continues 
to use alcoholic wines when so many of its members carry with 
them a subdued appetite for strong drink, it commits a grave 
mistake. 



GRINDELIA— Grindelia Robusta. 

This plant grows on the Pacific coast, and the leaves and flow- 
ering tops have had quite a reputation in medical circles as a 
remedy for catarrhal and bronchial affections. 

It has been found useful in asthma, both internally and when 
used as a fumigator. For the latter purpose the plant should be 
steeped in a solution of saltpetre and dried and burnt upon a 
plate, or it may be smoked in the form of cigarettes, or in a pipe. 

It is useful • in all coughs of a spasmodic character, such as 
asthma, whooping-cough, hay fever, and the cough of habit. 

The fluid extract, diluted with ten parts of water, is an excel- 
lent application to the eruption resulting from contact with poison 
ivy. Such a solution will also be found useful in itching eruptions 
generally when applied to the parts. 

The Fluid Extract is the best preparation for internal use. Dote, 
ten to thirty drops. 

GUARANA-Paullinia. 

This plant, a climbing vine, grows in Brazil, and the prepara- 
tions used in medicine are made from the seeds. They are sent 
into the market after being ground and pressed into cakes. 

It has been highly prized as a remedy for sick headache and 
nervousness, but as its preparations are of variable strength, it is 
not to be depended upon. 



486 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Its virtue depends upon the Caffeine it contains, and as the drug 
also contains tannic acid, which is constipating, it is better, when 
in need of such a remedy, to make use of pure caffeine, which is to 
be found in every drug store. 

Elixir of Guarana is a very elegant preparation. Dose, one or 
two teaspoonfuls. 

GUAIAC. 

Guaiac wood, known also as Lignum Vitas, comes from the West 
Indies, where it grows in large trees. 

Guaiac Chips and " Gum Guaiac " are found in every drug 
store. 

It was formerly much used as a blood purifier, and is one of the 
ingredients of Compound Syrup of Sarsaparilla. It has been 
employed with asserted advantage in chronic rheumatism. 

The use of Guaiac is now largely confined to diseases of the throat, 
upon which it seems to exert specific benefit. It is claimed that 
guaiac, if used early, will cut short an attack of tonsilitis. One 
teaspoonful of the Ammoniated Tincture of Guaiac should be put in 
a half glass of milk and the throat gargled once or twice and the 
remainder swallowed, and repeated every four or six hours. 
Guaiac Lozenges, to be found in every drug store, allowed to dis- 
solve in the mouth, will answer the same purpose, or powdered 
guaiac, as much as will lie on a penny, may be beaten up with the 
yolk of an egg and taken for sore throat or tonsilitis with good 
effect. 

There are two preparations of Guaiac, the plain Tincture and the 
Ammoniated Tincture. The dose of either is from one-half to one 
teaspoonful in milk three or four times a day. The ammoniated 
is to be preferred. 

Cohen's Gargle, consisting of the Ammoniated Tincture of 
Guaiac, Chlorate of Potash, Huxham's Tincture, and Honey, is 
a most excellent mixture, not only well adapted as a gargle, but 
also of value for internal use in teaspoonful doses. 



GUM ARABIC-Acacia. 

Gum Arabic is used chiefly in making mucilage, and by drug- 
gists in suspending insoluble medicines ; also in making emul- 
sions of oils and other substances. 

It is used in sore throat and catarrhal inflammations as a demul- 
cent, and for this purpose small pieces of the gum may be allowed 
to dissolve in the mouth and slowly swallowed. 



HELLEBORE — INDIAN HEMP. 487 

The powder, frequently dusted on, is an excellent remedy for 
sore nipples. 

Mucilage is made by dissolving one ounce of Gum Arabic in 
two ounces of water, and if it is to be kept for some time, a drop 
or two of oil of cloves will help to preserve it. 

Gum Arabic water is sometimes recommended as a mucilagi- 
nous drink in sore throat, colds, irritated stomach, etc., but there are 
other articles better adapted to this purpose. 



AMERICAN HELLEBORE-Veratrum Viride. 
BLACK HELLEBORE-Helleborus Niger. 
WHITE HELLEBORE-Veratrum Album. 

Veratrum Viride, Indian Poke, or Green Hellebore, is often used 
by physicians in the form of Tincture. Dose, two to eight drops. 
It is a depressant to the heart — somewhat similar to tincture of 
aconite — and is used in inflammatory fevers with bounding pulse. 
It is totally unfit for popular use. 

Black Hellebore is a powerful hydragogue cathartic, and is an 
active poison in over-doses. 

White Hellebore is used chiefly as an insecticide, the powder 
being dusted on rose bushes, flowering plants, etc. Care must be 
exercised in using it on fruit-bearing vines. It should never be 
applied after the fruit has matured. 



INDIAN HEMP-Cannabis Indica. 
AMERICAN HEMP-Apocynum Cannabinum. 

Indian Hemp should not be confounded with American Hemp. 
They are, however, similar in action, and both are used in medi- 
cine. Indian Hemp is an active narcotic. It is the ''Hashish " 
of the Hindoo and Arab, and Jiabitues use immense quantities of 
it in those countries. Possibly, like opium, it may yet curse 
America by its enslaving power. 

It is used as a quieting addition to cough mixtures, and to relieve 
spasm when due to morbid nervous conditions. 

Its place in medicine, however, is not very well denned, and 
attention is called to it here chiefly to make known the fact that 
it is totally unfit for unprofessional use. 



488 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



HOFFMAN'S ANODYNE. 

Hoffman's Anodyne, or Compound Spirits of Ether, is often 
prescribed as an antispasmodic stimulant and anodyne, but it is not 
suited for general use. A few drops added to a dose of laudanum 
will often prevent the nauseating effect of the latter medicine 
with certain persons. 

Dose — one half to one teaspoonful in sweetened water. 

It is claimed that in some localities Hoffman's Anodyne is 
taken in place of alcoholic liquors, but I am inclined to believe 
that such cases are rare in this country. 



HOPS— Humulus. 

Hops vary greatly in quality. 

A good article must be fresh, possess a strong characteristic 
odor, and contain a liberal amount of pollen and waxy, sticky 
substance which clings to the hands when handled. Old hops, 
and those improperly dried, are practically worthless. 

Hops are tonic, anodyi > e, and have a tendency to quiet the nerves 
and promote sleep. 

The Hop Pillow is a deservedly popular domestic remedy for 
sleeplessness and nervousness. 

To make a hop pillow, fill a small pillowcase with hops which 
have been sprinkled w r ith alcohol to liberate their active principle. 

The Hop Poultice is well adapted to painful inflammations, 
especially ear-ache, face-ache, and local pains. 

Hop Tea is made by pouring a pint of boiling water over one- 
half ounce, or a small handful, of hops. Dose, from one-quarter to 
one-half teacupful. 

A mixture of Hop and Red Pepper teas is one of the best reme- 
dies to satisfy the alcoholic appetite or to quiet the nerves and 
stomach after alcoholic excesses. Hop tea freely drank will prove 
of great benefit in delirium tremens. 

Tincture of Hops, dose one teaspoonful, is seldom used, Tincture 
of Lupulin being more active, and the latter should be selected 
when such a remedy is indicated. 



HOREHOUND— Marrubium Vulgare. 

This herb is too w r ell known to need description ; it is used 
chiefly in diseases of the throat and lungs, but it is very limited in 
its effect. It is somewhat tonic, and may be given in infusion 



HYDRANGEA — HYOSCYAMUS. 489 

(one ounce to one pint of boiling water), in one to three table- 
spoonful doses. 

It is used principally in the form of home-made syrup and candy 
for coughs and colds, but as the stomach and digestion are generally 
deranged in such cases — a condition increased by syrups and 
candies — it is always questionable whether such things do not 
aggravate rather than cure the difficulties for which they are used. 
The same inference will apply to the use of all cough candies. 



HYDRANGEA. 

Hydrangea, or Seven-Barks, grows in most parts of the 
United States ; the root is the part employed in medicine. 

It was first introduced as a remedy for gravel or stony deposits 
in the bladder. It was claimed that it would, by some peculiar 
powers, remove such accumulations very thoroughly. While it 
has not maintained the reputation it at first gained, it has been 
more or less prescribed in connection with other medicines for 
the above complaints. 

The patent medicine called " Seven-Barks " bears, we presume, 
but little relation to Hydrangea. 

Fluid Extract, dose, one-half to two teaspoonmls. 



HYOSCYAMUS. 

Hyoscyamus, also known as Henbane, is used to a considerable 
extent in medicine. It grows both in Europe and America, and 
all parts of the herb are active, the seeds and the leaves being the 
chief source of medicinal preparations. 

It is a powerful narcotic, and in large doses will cause death. 

It is used in medicine to promote sleep, allay cough, and control 
nervousness. 

It possesses one decided advantage over opium, namely, it is 
somewhat laxative, while opium has a tendency to constipate the 
bowels. It is often very happily combined with cathartics to 
modify their drastic properties and aid their cathartic action. 

It has proved to be of great service in insanity and chronic mania, 
in fact, it exercises a marked control over delirium, whether it be 
the result of alcohol, over-excitement, or acute disease. 

It is a valuable addition to cough mixtures, especially when 
intended for coughs of a nervous t} r pe, such as whooping-cough, 
asthma, and the various dry, tickling night coughs of a chronic 
kind. 



490 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

There are .several preparations of this drug, the best one, how- 
ever, being the Tincture of Ilyoscyamus ; dose, five to fifteen drops. 



HYPOPHOSPHITES. 

For a number of years, Hypophosphites of Lime, Soda, and 
Potash, chiefly in the form of syrup, have been prescribed to a 
large extent for scrofulous, rickety, and tubercular diseases. 
Clinical experience has, however, failed to prove in them any 
remarkable virtues. 

Many compounds are on the market, several of which have 
received, not only popular, but professional endorsement. 

" Fellows' Compound Syrup of Hypophosphites " is perhaps the 
most noted. It is a very commendable preparation, and is com- 
posed as follows. Each teaspoonful contains — 

A— 490. 

Hypophosphite of iron, 2 grains 

" quinine, ? grain 

strychnia, ■$% grain 

lime, 1 grain 

manganese 1 grain 

" potash, 2 grains 

The Druggist's "National Formulary" gives a number of 
excellent prescriptions containing these agents, and every compe- 
tent druggist can compound syrups fully equal to any on the 
market. Any of them are well worth a trial. 



ICHTHYOL. 

Ichthyol is a thick, dark semi-liquid substance with a somewhat 
disagreeable odor, made from fossil fish deposits from the Tyrol 
mountains. It is soluble in water, but is chiefly used in the form 
of ointments. Its stain can be washed from clothing. 

Ichthyol is a remarkable remedy for many diseases. It is some- 
what irritant when applied pure. An ointment composed of equal 
parts ichthyol, lanolin and petrolatum is a good combination, or 
it can be mixed with glycerine, olive oil or water to suit, and its 
odor disguised by oil bergamot, eucalyptus, rose or citronella. 

It is used with almost uniform success for acute and chronic 
rheumatism when localized and painful, neuralgia, sprains, ab- 
scesses, boils, eresipelas, chronic shin diseases, frost bites, lym- 
phatic swellings and chronic enlargements. It is one of the best 
absorbents we have. 



INHALATIONS. 491 



INHALATIONS. 

This mode of treating affections of the nose, throat, and lungs, 
possesses advantages, recognized by all. The treatment consists 
in inhaling medicines in a finely divided form It may be prac- 
ticed by inhaling medicated steam ; the spray from an atomizer, 
or in the form of vapor of volatile substances. 

Steam Atomizers were formerly much used ; but the Spray or 
the Inhaling Tube, Bottle, or other inhalers, have largely taken 
their place. 

In every drug store may be found various kinds of spray pro- 
ducers and inhaling apparatus. As a rule, the simplest are to be 
preferred. The best of them require care to keep them in working 
order. 

Robinson's Inhalers are among the best. They consist either of 
a single nose piece, or of a perforated cone, containing a sponge, 
fitting over the nose and held in place by rubber loops caught 
over the ears. The medicament is dropped upon the sponge and 
breathed for five or ten minutes. There are also various Inhaling 
Tabes on the market, in the cavity of which is placed the medicine 
to be inhaled. None but volatile substances are suited to the 
inhalers and tubes, while non-volatile remedies may be conveyed 
to the throat, etc., by means of the spray or atomizer. 

Among volatile articles, those most used are : oil of eucalyptus, 
terebene, menthol, tar, carbolic acid, camphor, and iodine. The vola- 
tile properties of these drugs are increased by the addition of 
alcohol, ether and chloroform. Heat also greatly favors vaporiza? 
tion. The inhaling tube filled with menthol is a very pleasant 
and effectual inhalant. 

The Chloride of Ammonia inhaling apparatus consists of a wide- 
mouthed bottle, within which is a small vial of aqua ammonia, and 
one of muriatic acid. The chlorine from one vial unites with the 
ammonia of the other and passes off as white fumes — chloride of 
ammonia — which is inhaled by the patient from the tube, through 
the cork. This is a very effectual way of medication. 

Gatarrh, chronic sore throat, bronchitis, and hoarseness, which resist 
other modes of treatment, are often cured by the use of inhalations; 
yet the use of these articles is often practiced to an extreme. 



492 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



RECTAL INJECTIONS. 

Injections into the bowel, also called Enemas, Clysters, or Lave- 
ments, consist of forcing liquids into the bowel with a syringe. 
They may be used to cause a passage of the contents of the bowel, 
to stop hemorrhage or bleeding, to change the condition of the 
parts as in dysentery, or to nourish the body, as in low forms of 
disease, or when it is impossible to take nourishment by the 
mouth. Most injections are given to produce a cathartic action. 
When from a pint to a quart of cold or warm water is thrown 
into the bowel it generally produces an evacuation in from three 
to fifteen minutes ; cold water acts more quickly than warm, but 
warm water softens the contents of the bowel much better than 
cold. 

Not much need be said about syringes. I have sold hundreds 
of them, and none are perfect. Of course, the better the material 
the longer they will last. As a matter of choice, the bulb is pre- 
ferred to the fountain, and I believe it possesses many advantages 
over the latter kind. I have always tried to avoid those kinds 
which are accompanied by a great number of tubes or other ma- 
chinery, as the more simple kinds are less apt to get out of order. 
A fountain or piston syringe is to be preferred in giving oily or 
mucilaginous substances. 

An Infant's Syringe consists of simply a bulb and nozzle with- 
out any tubing, and is very useful in the constipation of 
children. 

When an injection is to be given, the patient should be placed 
on the left side, if the injection is to be large, and the syringe 
filled with the liquid or " started " before being introduced into 
the bowel. The forcing should be easy and regular, and from a 
reservoir which will indicate about how much is being injected. 
No violence should be used, and if large quantities are ordered 
injected by a physician, he should attend the operation himself, 
or leave explicit directions. 

As a rule, from one pint to one quart is sufficient for an adult, 
but two quarts or more are often used, in which case the liquid 
should be warm. From one to six ounces is enough for a child. 
It is always best to lubricate the nozzle with vaseline or lard be- 
fore inserting it. The habitual use of injections is not to be 
encouraged, as it robs the bowel of important secretions, tends to 
destroy its tone, and renders the practice in future a necessity. 
An advertising charlatan some time back, through the medium 
of a plausibly-written pamphlet, caused what might be called an 



IODIDES. 493 

" injection craze," by charging three dollars to advise people to 
habitually indulge in the practice. The practice, however, when 
kept within reasonable bounds, is quite commendable. 

When water is administered to produce cathartic action, it may 
be made more active by the addition of soap, salt, molasses, oil or 
other substances. A tablespoonful of either of the above, or, what 
is better, a tablespoonful of Epsom salts added to water, will greatly 
promote its action. 

Washing out the rectum with warm or cold water is one of the 
most rational and effective methods of treating dysentery. In 
cholera infantum and cholera morbus it is often extremely important 
to administer anodynes per enema. Laudanum or other anodynes 
can often be administered in this way, in starch or gruel, with the 
most happy effect. 

A decoction of quassia chips used as an injection is perhaps the 
very best plan possible to destroy seat worms. 

Nutritive injections belong to professional practice. They are 
not often resorted to. When tried they should not be given oftener 
than every four hours, and as the bowel has no digesting powers, 
all food should be predigested by the use of pepsin, pancreatin, 
etc. 

Peptonized milk or beef are perhaps the best articles for a rectal 
diet. 

IODIDE OF POTASSIUM. 
IODIDE OF SODIUM. 
IODIDE OF AMMONIUM. 
IODIDE OF CALCIUM. 

The above are the " Iodides " of medicine. They are very similar, 
but the Iodide op Potassium, commonly called Iodide of Potash, is 
the one chiefly used. 

Iodide of Soda is supposed by some to be more acceptable to the 
stomach. Iodide of Ammonia is supposed to be somewhat more 
stimulating, and Iodide of Calcium is supposed to be somewhat 
milder, and less apt to derange the stomach. 

These opinions are largely hypothetical, and there are few 
reasons why Iodide of Potash cannot answer most cases where an 
iodide is called for. 

Iodide of Potash is found in the stores in crystal or granular 
form, and is a remedy of very broad application. 

It forms the basis of most of the proprietary " sarsaparillas," 
"blood purifiers," and "alteratives." 

Each bottle of Ayer's Sarsaparilla contains about ninety grains, 



494 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

and we suppose this is about the strength of other brands upon 
the market. 

Iodide of Potassium is pre-eminently the alterative and resolvent 
of the Materia Medica. In dispelling morbid growths and accumu- 
lations in the body, whether liquid, tissue, or bone, nothing is so 
effective as Iodide of Potassium. Where there is a tendency to 
unhealthy growths of the glands, or bony structures, whether 
inherited or acquired, unhealthy deposits, following such diseases 
as scarlet fever, measles, or rheumatism, and where a remedy is 
needed to dissolve and eliminate the humors, iodide of potash 
occupies a foremost position among medicines. 

In diseases of the bones of syphilitic and scrofulous origin; in 
chronic ulcerations, inflammations, enlargements, metallic poisons, 
chronic skin diseases, chronic rheumatism, neuralgia, asthma, in fact 
in nearly all cases where disease has become a settled condition 
— nature having abandoned the effort to repair — Iodide of Potas- 
sium is the palladium in the hands of the medical practitioner. 

Being a medicine of much activity, it is extremely important 
that it be given in the right way, and at the right time. Sometimes 
it deranges the stomach and irritates the membranes of the nose, 
but these effects are generally temporary. 

It is best taken with Compound Syrup of Sarsaparilla, and the 
dose is from three to fifteen grains, three times a day, taken at 
meal time ; about ten grains is the usual dose. 

In chronic rheumatism, especially of the joints and muscles, in 
chronic neuralgia, sciatica, and rheumatic gout, it is universally pre- 
scribed. In many cases of asthma, it acts admirably. In chronic 
syphilis no remedy is so much used. Lead poisoning is greatly 
benefited by it. Chronic bronchitis, catarrh, and the lingering 
remnants of pleurisy and pneumonia, are often greatly relieved by 
this remedy. Goitre is almost curable by the use of Iodide of 
Potassium internally, and the tincture of iodine externally. 

Thirty to sixty grains to the pint of water forms a good gargle 
in simple sore throat and tonsilitis. Aneurisms are often cured by 
Iodide of Potassium. 

The dose of the other iodides is the same as that of the potash 
salt. 

Syrup Hydriodic Acid has lately been used instead of the 
Iodides, being advertised as more agreeable to the stomach and 
possessing all the virtues of the Iodine. 

It is very liable to change, and, if used, the fresh syrup should 
be procured, and kept in a dark, cool place, securely corked. 



SYRUP OF IODIDE OF IRON — TINCTURE OF IODINE. 495 



SYRUP OF IODIDE OF IRON. 

Syrup Iodide of Iron is a transparent, greenish syrup, with a 
sweetish, ferruginous taste. 

This syrup has, for a generation, enjoyed a reputation as a tonic 
and alterative, especially adapted to cases of impoverished blood, 
with scrofulous taint. 

Especially has it been used in scrofulous children; but it is 
questionable whether or not it deserves the praise it has received. 
It well deserves a trial where indicated. 

When given, it should be well diluted with water, and as it is 
injurious to the teeth, the mouth should be well washed after its 
administration. 

Dose, for a child two years old, five to ten drops ; for an adult, 
twenty to forty drops, three times a day. 



TINCTURE OF IODINE. 

Iodine, as used in the family, is the Tincture of Iodine of the 
stores. Pure Crystal Iodine is seldom or never used. 

Tincture of Iodine is used almost exclusively as an external 
application. It should be applied with a camel's hair pencil, or 
feather, and if the tincture irritates the skin too severely, it may 
be diluted one-half with alcohol. 

Colorless Tincture of Iodine is often called for, but it is in 
no sense equal to the dark colored. 

The skin of some persons is very susceptible to Iodine, and it is 
well to begin lightly in using it. Its stain may be washed off with 
alcohol or ammonia. 

It is used with marked success in enlarged glands, especially of a 
chronic, scrofulous nature, goitre, and all inflammatory swellings, 
applied before the formation of pus. It is an effectual application 
to soft corns. 

In chronic catarrhal affections, lung troubles, whether pneumonia, 
pleurisy, or consumption, it is of great service as a counter-irritant 
when applied over the painful parts of the chest. 

Rheumatism and erysipelas are often greatly relieved by its use, 
but in the latter disease, it should be well diluted. Other pre- 
parations of Iodine are mentioned elsewhere. They form an 
important factor in the cure of disease. 



496 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



IODOFORM. 

Iodoform, a yellow powder, containing a large percentage of 
iodine, and having a disagreeable odor, is largely used as an 
external remed}^. It is one of the best remedies dusted on old and 
gainful ulcers, whether syphilitic, cancerous, strumous, or indolent, 
such as sore leg, and suppurative surfaces. 

Sprinkled on cuts and flesh luounds of all kinds it prevents 
unhealthy action and hastens the healing process. 



IODOL. 

Iodol, a yellowish-brown, tasteless, and odorless powder, is quite 
similar to iodoform in its effects. It may be used in many cases 
where the odor of iodoform would be objectionable. 

It is often applied in powder form, with good effect, to the throat 
and larynx, when ulcerated. 



ARISTOL. 

Aristol is a combination of iodine and thymol, and has been 
much advertised as a substitute for iodoform in surgical dressings ; 
it can be used in all cases where iodoform is indicated. The 
greatest advantage it possesses over iodoform is that it is almost 
free from odor ; but it is much more expensive. 

Aristol ointment, made by rubbing up from thirty to sixty 
grains with one ounce of vaseline, is an effectual remedy for 
obstinate diseases of the skin, especially those of the scaly variety. 



IRON— Ferrum. 

Iron, as a medicine, needs no introduction to the most ignorant, 
That "iron is atonic," every one believes, but beyond this, the 
people are quite ignorant of its effect on the human system. 

Iron is a natural constituent of the blood, the color of which is 
dependent upon the iron it contains, and it is a food as well as a 
medicine. 

There is nearly one-fourth ounce of metallic iron in each 
human being, acting as a very essential portion of his economy ; 
he could not live an instant without it. The advertisements of 
patent medicine venders have kept the people informed in regard 
to the importance of iron in the system, and it is unnecessary to 
enter into a physiological discussion. 



iron. 497 

Iron is tonic and astringent It is well to remember these two 
qualities, because the constipating effect of iron preparations is the 
greatest objection to their use, and must always be considered in 
their administration. Tincture of iron is specially constipating, 
and many persons find it impossible to take it on this account. 

In taking iron, therefore, those preparations should be chosen, 
which do not produce this effect, and each individual case must 
decide the matter. 

As remarked above, iron is tonic in its effect — pre-eminently so 
— not only as an immediate, but as a permanent tonic. By its 
own presence it supplies an important constituent of the body, 
and by its tonic action it increases the appetite, aids digestion, 
and exerts a constructive influence on the whole body. 

It should not be given in inflammatory diseases, or during 
fever. 

Iron, more than any other remedy, is useful in impoverished 
conditions of the blood, known in medical parlance, as ansemia, 
the symptoms of which are paleness, debility, and weak circula- 
tion. This condition is found in an endless number of cases in 
every community. The blood-making organs seem to be defi- 
cient in many people, and such are naturally anaemic, and where 
such predisposition exists, all debilitating influences, such as 
malaria, close confinement, long hours, scanty food, poorly ventil- 
ated houses, constipation, in fact, everything which lowers the 
physical vigor, tends to deteriorate the quality and quantity of 
the blood. Such persons, by a judicious and persistent course of 
iron, might experience great benefit therefrom. 

In malaria — in connection with quinine, and perhaps strych- 
nine and arsenic — one of the best possible tonic compounds is 
formed. 

Experience has convinced me, that giving small doses for a 
long time, is the only way for procuring the full benefit of iron 
preparations. 

Reduced Iron or Iron by Hydrogen is one of the best preparations. 
Dose one to five grains. It can be procured in pill form. It 
produces eructations, which makes it somewhat objectionable. It 
is but slightly constipating and agrees with most people. 

Dialyzed Iron is a dark red liquid, and has been much used of 
late years, instead of the tincture of iron, because it is claimed 
that it does not constipate the bowels. This is not altogether true, 
though it is much less astringent than the tincture. It is almost 
tasteless — harmless to the teeth — and is a good preparation of 
iron to take. It is claimed that it is quite feeble in its action, 
owing to the difliculty with which it is absorbed, yet it is unques- 



498 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

tionably taken up by the system, and deserves a trial, where iron 
is indicated. 

It should not be mixed with other medicine ; the dose is ten to 
thirty drops. It is a good antidote for arsenical poisoning, for which 
purpose it can be swallowed in tablespoonful doses, repeated every 
half hour, until several doses are taken. 

Tincture of Iron, dose five to twenty drops, is one of the 
best preparations, and the most used of any, but is astringent. 
It is injurious to the teeth, and care should be exercised in cleans- 
ing them after taking it. Taking it through a glass tube is a 
good plan. 

In weak, pale, rheumatic subjects, attacks of rheumatism may 
often be warded off, and the tendency to the disease cured by a 
timely use of the Tincture of Iron. 

In such diseases as erysipelas and diphtheria, where a decided 
impression on the blood is necessary, Tincture of Iron acts most 
happily. 

It is a valuable astringent in chronic mucous discharges, such as 
leucorrhcea and chronic diarrhoea; urinary irritation is often relieved 
by it, for which purpose, Basham's mixture is to be preferred. 

Tincture of Iron may be used to stop local hemorrhages. 

Basham's Mixture, when freshly made is an elegant prepara- 
tion of iron, especially where a diuretic influence is desired. 
Dose, one teaspoonful to one tablespoonful. 

There are many compounds, containing iron, found in drug stores. 

Bitter Wine of Iron is well adapted to many cases where a 
mild stimulant is desired. 

The "Beef, Iron and Wine" so largely advertised is not 
worthy of the reputation it has gained. 

Ammonio-Citrate of Iron, Iodide of Iron, and Citrate of 
Iron and Quinine, are all used in special cases. 

Sulphate of Iron, commonly called Copperas, is much used 
as a disinfectant. 

Sulphate of Iron, purified, dried, and powdered, and made into 
pills, either alone, or in combination with quinine, strychnine, 
arsenic, etc., serves a most excellent purpose. 

Pills of Carbonate of Iron (Vallet's Mass), may be used in the 
same way as the sulphate. 



IPECAC— Ipecacuanha. 

Ipecac is a native of Brazil, and is sold in the stores in the form 
of Powder y Fluid Extract, Wine, and Syrup, and in various combi- 
nations. 



ipecac. 499 

It is an exceedingly valuable remedy, and is widely used both 
in professional and domestic practice. 

Ipecac is diaphoretic, expectorant, and in large doses it acts as an 
emetic. 

It has a specific action on the bronchial mucous membrane, and 
also on the secretions of the liver and alimentary glands. Some- 
times it acts on the bowels. 

It is much used as an emetic in croup, and to relieve the stomach 
in acute bilious attacks or sick headache. 

Its relaxing effect is often very serviceable at the beginning of 
eruptive diseases, often greatly modifying the subsequent force of 
the disease. 

As it empties the stomach without causing much prostration, it is 
a very safe emetic, especially adapted to the diseases of childhood. 
Where more energetic emetics are called for, as in membranous 
croup, other agents, such as sulphate of zinc, Turpeth mineral, or 
alum, are preferred. 

Ipecac enters largely into the composition of Expectorants and 
Cough Mixtures. Indeed, for general use, no remedy is better 
adapted for such purposes. It is safe, effectual, and its general 
effect on the system is often very salutary. 

It is rather remarkable, but a fact well worth knowing, that 
wine of ipecac, one or two drops every half hour or hour, will 
often relieve vomiting in a very short time : especially is this true of 
vomiting caused by nervousness, such as that attending pregnancy, 
headache, etc. 

In ordinary colds, either in children or adults, syrup of ipecac, 
either simple or compound, taken at night, in doses sufficient to 
produce slight nausea, but not vomiting, is not only very effec- 
tive, but a thoroughly scientific treatment, and is within the 
reach of all, — indeed, it is the remedy during the first stages of 
a cold, accompanied by a tight cough. 

Ipecac was originally used as a remedy for dysentery, over 
which it exercises a marked control. When used in small doses, 
a tolerance is rapidly gained, and instead of acting as an emetic, it 
stimulates the liver and acts as a cathartic, often proving a rapid 
cure for dysentery of a bilious type. 

Many of the laxative pills prescribed contain ipecac, the virtues 
of which are thereby much improved. 

As an emetic, Ipecac may be given in doses of thirty grains of 
the powder every twenty minutes, until the desired effect is pro- 
duced. For a child one year old, the emetic dose is five grains. 
Large draughts of lukewarm water aid and hasten its action. 

Syrup of Ipecac. — Dose for child six months old, five drops ; 



500 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

one year old, ten drops; two years old, fifteen drops; four years 
old, twenty drops; ten years old, thirty drops; adult dose, one 
teaspoonful ; dose as an emetic for child, one teaspoonful, repeated 
if necessary. 

Wine of Ipecac. — Dose, same as the syrup. 

Fluid Extract. — Dose, as an emetic for adult, twenty to 
thirty drops. 

There are lozenges sold in drug stores, containing ipecac, which 
are used in catarrh, and for their local effect on the throat. 



J ABORANDI— Pilocarpus. 

Jaborandi is a Brazilian plant, and is much used by the pro- 
fession as a diaphoretic, or sweat producer. It possesses remark- 
able power in this respect ; the perspiration, after a full dose has 
been taken, sometimes amounts to a pint, consequently it is much 
used in dropsy, and in other diseases where a profuse perspiration 
is desirable. It is not, however, suited to popular use, and is 
mentioned here simply because it is a valuable drug. The fluid 
extract is chiefly used ; dose, five to forty drops. 

Jaborandi is said to be a remarkable tonic for the scalp, and 
some specialists claim that it is the best remedy we have to 
prevent the hair from falling out. 

The active principle, pilocarpine, is chiefly prescribed by the 
profession, instead of preparations of the crude drug. 



JALAP— Jalapa. 

Jalap is an efficient cathartic. It has been used a great deal in 
connection with calomel ; but, fortunately for humanity, " Calomel 
and Jalap " is seldom heard of now. Jalap is used by physicians 
in dropsy, as it causes profuse watery stools. 

It is generally given with Cream of Tartar or Squills, but very 
rarely alone. 

The dose of Jalap is five to twenty grains in powder form. It 
is only called for in special cases, and is properly restricted to the 
profession. 

Compound Jalap Powder, a mixture containing about one- 
third powdered jalap and two-thirds cream of tartar, forms a very 
desirable mixture for dropsical affections. Dose, ten grains to one 
teaspoonful. 

The old-fashioned " Compound Cathartic Pills " contain one 
grain each of abstract jalap. 



JUNIPER — KOUMISS. 501 



JUNIPER. 



Juniper is a native of Europe, but grows in dry woods and hills 
of this country. 

The Berries are the part used in medicine. They have a 
special action on the kidneys, and have been much used in dropsical 
affections. 

Infusion of Juniper Berries is made by pouring one pint of boil- 
ing water over one ounce of bruised berries and occasionally stir- 
ring it for half an hour, and then straining. The diuretic quali- 
ties of the above may be greatly enhanced if one-half ounce of 
Cream of Tartar be added. Half a pint of this mixture may be 
taken in divided doses during the twenty-four hours. The Juniper 
Berries and Cream of Tartar produce a much better result together, 
than either alone. 

Compound Spirits of Juniper is very similar to " Holland Gin," 
and is sometimes recommended for chronic kidney affections of 
elderly persons, but it should never be used except as prescribed 
by a physician. 

KOUMISS. 

Koumiss, or koumyss, was originally made from mare's milk, 
but all that is manufactured in this country is made from 
the milk of the cow. It must be carefully made and drank when 
it is about three days old, to prove pleasant and wholesome. Each 
pint of good koumiss contains about two ounces of solid food. 

It is often remarkably acceptable to the stomach of the sick, 
and can often be taken with impunity in gastralgia and other 
stomach disorders, when all other kinds of food are rejected. 
It improves the appetite, is somewhat diuretic, and induces 
sleep at night without causing the headache so apt to follow the 
use of milk. It is especially useful during convalescence and 
acute gastric troubles. 

Care must be taken in transferring koumiss from the bottle to 
a glass, as it is under high pressure. If the cork is drawn 
carelessly, the contents are apt to fly all over the room. To 
prevent this, it should be thoroughly cooled, and the cork pulled 
while the bottle is erect, and the contents free from foam. The 
best thing to use, however, is a "champagne tap," which can be 
inserted through the cork, and the contents withdrawn at pleasure. 
Koumiss should be kept on ice, or in a cool place, and used when 
it is not too fresh or too stale. 

There are preparations on the market with which to make 



502 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

koumiss extemporaneously, and some of them serve an excellent 
purpose. None of them, however, furnish so palatable or 
wholesome an article as that made in the regular way by the 
druggist. 

LANOLIN. 

Lanolin is made from the oil or fat from sheep's wool. The 
former objection to its woolly or sheepish odor is now largely 
overcome, as recent samples are quite odorless. Lanolin differs 
from most oils and fats in that it readily mixes with one-half its 
weight of water or glycerine, and, when applied to the skin, pene- 
trates very rapidly and gives up any medicament which it may 
contain. When it is desired to apply some medicine to a part in 
an ointment, lanolin is far preferable as a base to vaseline, but it 
is not so good a protective to the skin. Aside from the above 
qualities, it is in no way superior to vaseline, suet, or other fats. 



LAVENDER-Lavandula. 

The fragrance of Lavender Flowers is well known to all. They 
are used to perfume wardrobes and other apartments, by being 
placed therein. 

As a medicine, Lavender is a stimulant, aromatic and carmina- 
tive. 

Compound Spirits of Lavender is composed of oils of lavender, 
rosemary, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. It is an admirable 
remedy, either alone or in combination with other medicines, for 
flatulence, nausea, stomach pains, and as a general corrective. 

Oil of Lavender fills an important place in the manufacture of 
perfumery. There is a great difference in the quality of it as 
found in the stores. A few drops of oil of lavender sprinkled in a 
bookcase will prevent a library from mould. 

" Lavender Water" or Spirits of Lavender, a ver}^ fragrant and last- 
ing toilet perfume, is sold in the stores. It is one of those things 
in which the exquisite quality of the odor depends upon the 
honesty and skill of the pharmacist. 



SUGAR OF LEAD-PIumbi Acetas. 

Sugar of Lead, so-called on account of its sweet taste, is largely 
used by the profession, especially as an external application. 

Internally, it is an astringent and sedative, used principally in 
bowel troubles and hemorrhages. 



LICORICE. 503 

Lead Water, made by adding one teaspoonful of Goulard's 
Extract to a pint of water, is used universally as an application 
to local swellings, painful and fevered inflammations ; and also in 
many skin diseases. 

Lead Water and Laudanum is preferable where there is much 
pain. 

It maybe applied on cloths, or, when desired, it may besprinkled 
over the face of a poultice, before applying it. By this means a 
poultice can be rendered quite anodyne in its action, and also 
more active in subduing inflammation. 

One or two grains of Sugar of Lead in one ounce of Rose Water, 
is sometimes used as an eye-wash for sore eyes, but Sugar of Lead 
is not so good as some other articles, as a base for eye lotions. 

White Lead rubbed up with Oil, or with Cerate ; or, the pure 
white lead ground in Linseed Oil, as used by painters, is an 
excellent application to burns, scalds, and many skin diseases, when 
the skin is unbroken. 

Much of the lead water mixed in the household is made entirely 
too strong, and acts as an irritant. A quarter of an ounce of the 
crystals or powdered Sugar of Lead to a quart of water, is as strong 
as it should ever be used. 

All preparations of Lead are poisonous. 

Sugar of Lead enters into the manufacture of hair preparations ; 
and while their occasional use is harmless, such preparations are 
not safe for continual use. 



LICORICE— Glycyrrhiza. 

Licorice Root, and Black Licorice or Extract of Licorice, occurring in 
black rolls or lozenges, are well known drug store staples. 

Licorice has a very pleasant sweet taste, is mildly laxative, and 
demulcent, and is a valuable addition to throat and pectoral 
mixtures. 

The root is often chewed for sore throat, hoarseness, coughs, and 
bronchitis, and I am quite sure that it is superior, for these com- 
plaints, to the various cough lozenges and drops with which the 
market is flooded. 

The Black Extract is preferred to the root by many, and it is 
largely used for the above complaints. 

On account of its sweet taste licorice is often used to disguise 
the taste of other medicines, such as quinine. Those who take 
black licorice for colds etc., generally use it too freely^ 

Brown Mixture (a liquid preparation) containing licorice, wine 



504 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

of antimony, paregoric and sweet spirits of nitre, is a very valu- 
able remedy for coughs, colds, and bronchitis. Dose one to three 
teaspoonfuls. 

Compound Licorice Powder is a well known laxative. It con- 
tains powdered licorice root, senna and sulphur ; dose one to two 
teaspoonfuls. It is an excellent combination and operates without 
causing much pain ; I have sold hundreds of pounds of it over 
the drug counter, and few medicines give better satisfaction. 



CHLORIDE OF LIME. 

Chloride of Lime is usually sold in paper boxes, hermetically 
sealed. It is used almost entirely for its disinfectant and deodoriz- 
ing properties. A weak solution is sometimes used as a gargle in 
putrid sore throat, and as a mouth wash in offensive breath and 
ulcerated gums. 

As a disinfectant, it is used for cellars, water closets, cesspools, 
ships, etc. Until needed for use it should be kept from contact 
with the air, as it loses its strength when exposed. 

It may be either sprinkled around in powder form, or dissolved 
in water and the solution used. As it is somewhat offensive to 
the smell and a strong decolorizer, the solution is unsuited to use 
where the sick are, or where clothing or other material is apt to 
beeome spotted with it. 

Chlorinated Lime may be used to purify drinking water, as on 
shipboard. For this purpose one or two ounces should be put into 
sixty gallons of water, and allowed to settle while exposed to the 
air, before it is used. 

Directions for using chloride of lime accompany the package 
in which it is sold from the drug store. 



LIME WATER-Liquor Calcis. 

Lime water is a saturated solution of Lime and water, and is 
made in the following manner : Gradually slake quick lime by 
adding sufficient cold water, stir it thoroughly and allow it to 
settle ; then pour off the clear liquid, putting the soft lime thus 
slaked into a bottle holding a quart or more, filling it one-fourth 
full ; keeping it full of pure water and well corked. It should be 
occasionally shaken and allowed to settle ; the clear liquid only 
should be used. Druggists keep it on hand filtered, ready for 
use. 



LIVERWORT — LOBELIA. 505 

Lime water is the best possible remedy for nausea and sick 
stomach, except in acute gastritis, and as it is not only quieting to 
the irritated stomach, but antacid, astringent, and tonic, it is 
specially adapted to the treatment of diarrhoea and summer com- 
plaint. In dyspepsia, with vomiting and acid stomach, it is often 
extremely useful, and Lime Water and Milk may often, with great 
advantage, form the entire diet. In vomiting, it should be mixed 
with equal parts of milk — which completely disguise its taste. 
Give one or two tablespoonfuls every half hour. 

As it prevents milk from coagulating, it is often combined with 
that fluid when used as a food for infants, or for adults with weak 
stomachs. 

Lime Water has been found to be an excellent wash for scald 
head, and it is said that ulcers have a tendency to discharge less, 
when lime water is applied to them. 

Lime Water and Sweet Oil is a favorite application — and 
a good one — to burns and scalds. 

Lime water when inhaled has the power of softening and dis- 
solving the false membrane of croup and diphtheria. It may be 
applied by the use of the atomizer, or the patient may breathe 
the vapor of slaking lime through a funnel. The process should 
be repeated every two or three hours, and continued each time for 
a few minutes. 



LIVERWORT— Hepatica Americana. 

Liverwort, Liver Leaf or Kidney Liver Leaf, an indigenous plant, 
growing in the woods of the United States, is more or less used in 
domestic practice, which is due, no doubt, to the suggestive name 
which it bears. 

It is feebly tonic and astringent. It is often added to other 
medicines intended to regulate the action of the liver and other 
secretions, but its value is very questionable. 

Fluid Extract. — Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. 



LOBELIA-Lobelia Inflata. 

Lobelia, or Indian Tobacco, is a very common plant, and is used 
to a considerable extent as a domestic remedy. 

Its effects are somewhat similar to that of tobacco, and in large 
doses it is a very harsh remedy. 

I have often sold it to be used as an expectorant and emetic for 
children in croup and other affections, but it is not a safe remedy, 



506 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

and sometimes produces alarming symptoms when given in doses 
large enough to produce vomiting. 

It can be combined to advantage with other medicines in 
cough mixtures, and for spasmodic affections such as croup and 
asthma. It sometimes proves very efficacious in asthma. 

The best preparation is the tincture, the dose of which is from 
ten drops to one .teaspoonful for an adult. About fifteen drops 
every hour until relief is obtained, is the best mode of administra- 
tion in asthmatic attacks. 

An infusion, one ounce of the herb to one pint of water, will 
sometimes cure the eruption caused by " poison oak," or " poison 
vine," when applied locally. 

It is usually an ingredient of asthma fumigators. 



LOVAGE ROOT. 

Lovage root is a stimulant aromatic, sometimes added to 
cathartic medicines for its carminative qualities. It is no doubt 
void of any marked medicinal value. The root is sometimes 
chewed to sweeten the mouth and breath. 



LYCO PODIUM. 

Lycopodium, as found in the stores, is a pale yellow, exceed- 
ingly mobile, fine powder. It is the seeds of the club-moss. It is 
odorless and tasteless. It has no affinity for water, and is very 
useful at the prescription counter to dry the surface of pills, 
suppositories, etc. I have sold large quantities of it during the 
past few years to be used as "Baby Powder," and to dry the 
surface of bed-sores, for which purpose it seems to be well 
adapted. 



MAGNESIA. 

Magnesia is found in the stores in a variety of forms, the chief 
being as follows : — 

1. Heavy Calcined Magnesia. — A white, rather heavy powder, 
well suited as a laxative for children. Dose, one-third to one 
teaspoonful. 

2. Light Calcined Magnesia. — A white, very light mobile 
powder. Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. 

3. Carbonate of Magnesia occurs in lumps or cubes, used 
as an antacid. 



MALE FERN. 507 

4. Solution of Citrate op Magnesia. — An effervescent liquid 
sold in twelve-ounce bottles. Dose, one-half to one bottle. 

5. Granular Effervescent Citrate of Magnesia. — Dose, a 
heaping tablespoonful. 

Calcined Magnesia is an antacid and laxative, and it is a 
valuable domestic remedy. It is much employed in headache, 
constipation and diarrhoea, especially when accompanied with an 
acid condition of the stomach and bowels. 

Many disorders of the system, such as gout, urinary, and skin 
diseases, are the outgrowth of an acid condition of the bowels — a 
condition which magnesia is well calculated to overcome. But it 
should be stated that taking magnesia for acidity is not to be 
carried too far. Powdered or lump magnesia is not suited to 
prolonged use, as it is liable to accumulate in lumps in the 
bowels, and prove a serious obstruction. 

Milk is the best vehicle in which to give it to babies. Dose of 
the powder for an infant is one-fourth to one-third of ateaspoonful. 

Solution Citrate of Magnesia is made by the druggist, and 
sold in bottles containing three-fourths of a pint. It is probably 
the most pleasant to the taste, the most agreeable to the stomach, 
and in many respects, the most acceptable laxative and cathartic 
compounded. 

It sometimes gripes, and is not suited when the bowels are 
inflamed. One-half a bottle is a laxative, and an entire bottle, 
a purgative dose. 

Granular Citrate of Magnesia is also sold in the stores, 
the dose of which is a heaping tablespoonful in water, taken during 
effervescence. I have sold it for years, and it gives excellent 
satisfaction. It is well adapted for travelers, and seafaring men, 
as it is less bulky than the liquid preparation. 



MALE FERN— Aspidium Filix Mas. 

Male fern, an indigenous plant, is often prescribed for the 
removal of tapeworm. The Oleoresin is usually administered. It 
is a dark, thick, somewhat bitter liquid, and the dose is from one- 
half to one teaspoonful. 

The patient should limit himself to a light bread and milk diet 
for one day, and the following morning take two full doses of the 
oleoresin, three hours apart. At noon the patient may eat his 
dinner, and in the evening a brisk cathartic should be taken. 

Male fern is quite irritant in over-doses, and it is well to use it 
only under the supervision of a physician, in order that he may 



508 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

better direct the requirements of each individual case. Pumpkin 
seeds should always be tried before resort is made to other reme- 
dies for tapeworm. 

MALT. 

During the past few years preparations of Malt have been 
widely advertised as remedial compounds, and especially as tonic 
and constructive agents. It is sometimes prescribed in powder 
and granular form, but the preparations most used are the Liquid 
Malts and the thick syrupy compounds — Malt Extracts — of which 
there are many on the market. They are entitled to some com- 
mendation, as the diastase and other substances which they con- 
tain are, under certain conditions, valuable aids to digestion. 

Liquid Malt, or Extract of Malt in liquid form, as found in the 
stores, is a variable and often unreliable article ; while many of 
the brands are excellent, some are little more than beer. 

Extract of Malt is a thick, syrupy, honey-like substance, with a 
pleasant, sweetish taste and odor, and is to be preferred to the 
liquid preparations. That manufactured by Trommer, and also 
by the Maltine Manufacturing Company, are thoroughly reliable, 
and those in need of such articles will find either of the above 
brands entirely satisfactory. These manufacturers not only supply 
a plain extract but combine it with various agents, such as cod- 
liver oil, cascara, pepsin and pancreatin, hypophosphites, iron, 
quinia, etc. Thick extracts of malt emulsify with cod-liver oil, 
hence they are often prescribed together. 



MANDRAKE-Podophyllum. 

Mandrake, or May Apple, grows in Canada and the United States. 
The root is the part used, and it is a very valuable medicine. 

The fluid extract — dose, five to twenty drops, is found in the 
stores. 

Podophyllin, its active principle, is the preparation generally 
employed, the dose of which is from one-fourth to one grain. 

Podophyllin exerts a special influence on the liver, and is often 
spoken of as the "vegetable calomel." 

The vegetable cathartic pills, of which so many are sold, are 
very similar to the old-fashioned " U. S. P. Compound Cathartic," 
with the calomel left out, and podophyllin added as its substitute. 
These pills are less rapid and less active than the " U. S. P.," but 
are much to be preferred to the old variety as a general cathartic. 



MANGANESE. 509 

When given alone, podophyllin is from ten to twelve hours in 
operating. It causes more or less griping, and the stools are 
bilious. 

Its action on the liver is as thoroughly established in therapeu- 
tics as that of calomel. It is well suited to administration alone, 
and minute doses of it are much prescribed as a regulator for the 
liver and bowels. 

Pills containing from one-tenth to one grain can be procured, 
and the minimum dose, sufficient to produce the desired effect, 
should always be preferred. 

Most of the patent pills, especially the " liver granules " and 
" cathartic pellets," are composed of this drug. In all cases of 
dyspepsia, jaundice, constipation, and headache, due to torpid liver, 
podophyllin is perhaps the best purgative. 

It is to be hoped that it will render the use of calomel super- 
fluous ; it may, when its virtues become better known by the 
people. 



MANGANESE. 

Manganese is one of the metals, and is found in the form of the 
Black Oxide of Manganese. It is a well-known fact that several 
metals are found in the human system, and that iron is a very 
essential constituent of the blood. When iron is deficient in the 
vital fluid, other metals, and more especially manganese, will 
often seem to take its place, and their administration be attended 
with an improvement similar to that which takes place when iron 
is taken. The following is interesting : — 

" Manganese exists in the soil of Scotland. It is taken up by 
the oat-plant, and thus conveyed into the blood of the Scotch, 
who feed on porridge ; and Scotchmen are said to have manganese 
in their blood. Iodine exists in the bodies of Frenchmen, but not 
in the bodies of the Genevese. If these things are so, nationality 
can be ascertained by chemical analysis, and manganese may be 
an important constituent of the man of mental, moral and physi- 
cal power ; and iodine of the gay, polite, versatile, industrious and 
cheerful Frenchman." 

The preparations of manganese are not suited to unprofessional 
hands. The black oxide and sulphate of manganese are occa- 
sionally prescribed ; the first named to supply a deficiency of iron 
in the blood, and as a general tonic, and the latter as a liver tonic. 
The dose of either is from two to five grains. 



510 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



MANNA. 

Manna is chiefly used at the present day in combination with 
Senna, in the form of a cathartic draught, 

It makes the Senna somewhat more pleasant to the taste, but I 
am not sure that the combination is more desirable in other 
particulars than senna alone. 

When given alone as a laxative or cathartic it is apt to produce 
wind in the bowels, with more or less discomfort. 

Dose for a child, about one-sixth of an ounce ; for an adult, one 
ounce. 

There is a great difference in the quality of manna, Flake 
manna, free from dirt, is the best, The main trouble about it is, 
most druggists sell so little of it that it is apt to get old and 
worthless while in stock. 



MARSH MALLOW- Althaea. 

The dried leaves, flowers, or root of this plant yield, when boiled 
in water, a demulcent drink, which is used by persons suffering 
from coughs, chronic bronchitis, urinary diseases, and irritation of 
the stomach and bowels. It is one of the ingredients of " German 
Breast Tea" which is used as a demulcent drink in catarrhal 
affections. Aside from its mucilaginous qualities, it possesses no 
medicinal virtue. 

MATICO. 

The leaves of this Peruvian shrub are used in diseases of the 
mucous membranes, especially of the genito-urinary tract. The 
leaves are astringent when locally applied. The fluid extract is 
sometimes used, both locally and internally, in discharges from 
the mucous membranes — especially of a venereal nature — and as 
an astringent in leucorrhoza, menorrhagia, diarrhoza, spitting of 
blood, and bloody discharges, from whatever source. Dose of Fluid 
Extract, one-half teaspoonful. 



MEAT AND BEEF EXTRACTS. 

Meat foods, chiefly in the form of Extract of Beef, are found in 
every drug store. 

The preparations of Wyeth & Bro., Parke, Davis & Co., Liebig, 
and others, are thorough^ reliable and fill an important place in 



MEAT AND BEEF EXTRACTS. 511 

the treatment of the sick. The popular idea of Beef Teas, how- 
ever, is very erroneous. Their nutrient properties as usually pre- 
pared are very limited, but when properly prepared they are 
valuable tonics and stimulants in low forms of disease ; and they 
also arouse the stomach and other digestive functions to renewed 
action. When Beef Tea is intended for adults, at least one pound 
of lean beef should be used to a pint of water ; when it is for chil- 
dren, one-half pound is sufficient. 

Beef Tea may be made as follows : — 

" Take one pound of lean beef, and mince it. Put it, with its 
juice, into an earthen vessel containing a pint of tepid water, and 
let the whole stand for one hour ; strain well, squeezing all the 
juice from the meat. Place on the fire, and slowly raise just to 
the boiling point, stirring it briskly all the time. Season with salt 
and pepper to taste. In administering this, always be careful to 
stir up the sediment." 

Boiling causes coagulation of the albumen, and the food value 
of the preparation is lost. As a rule the extracts are to be pre- 
ferred to beef in preparing beef tea, unless an extra quality of beef 
can be procured. 

Peptonized Beef is made in the following manner : — 

" Take a quarter of a pound of finely minced, raw, lean beef; cold 
water, half a pint. Mix in a saucepan. Cook over a gentle fire, 
stirring constantly until it has boiled a few minutes. Then 
pour off the liquor for future use, beat or rub the meat to a paste, 
and put it into a clean fruit jar with half a pint of cold water and 
the liquor poured from the meat, and add 

Extracti pancreatis (Fairchild), ... 20 grains 
Sodii bicarb., 15 " 

"Shake well together, and set aside in a warm place, at about 
110° to 115°, for three hours, stirring or shaking occasionally; 
then boil quickly. The liquid may then be strained, or clarified 
with white of egg in the usual manner, and seasoned to taste with 
salt and pepper. 

"In the great majority of cases it is not necessary to strain the 
peptonized liquor, for the portion of meat remaining undissolved 
will have been so softened and acted upon by the pancreatic 
extract that it will be in very fine particles, and diffused in an 
almost impalpable condition, and is, therefore, in a form ready for 
assimilation in the body." 

The market is flooded with preparations of Beef with other 
substances, under such names as " Beef, Iron and Wine," " Beef 



512 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

and Iron," " Beef and Cinchona," etc. As a rule such preparations 
cannot be commended. 



MERCURY— Hydrargyrum. 

Mercury, or Quicksilver, is a silvery colored liquid metal, thir- 
teen and one-half times heavier than water. Its preparations 
have held an important position in the history of medicine ; and 
although almost universal prejudice has existed against them, 
they are still used, and fill an exceedingly important place in 
modern treatment. Mercurials may be classed as " sharp-edged 
tools ; " and unless they are carefully and skillfully handled they 
are apt to produce more or less harm. 

There is an almost endless list of medicines made from mercury, 
the principal ones being — 

Calomel — Dose, one-tenth to five grains. Also used in oint- 
ments. 

Blue Mass — Dose, one to ten grains. 

Mercury with Chalk — Dose, one to ten grains. 

Yellow Oxide of Mercury — Used in ointments ; five to forty 
grains to one ounce of ointment. 

Red Iodide of Mercury — Dose, one-eightieth to one-twentieth 
grain. Also used in ointments. 

Yellow Subsulphate of Mercury — Turpeth Mineral. Dose, 
as emetic, two to five grains. 

Corrosive Sublimate — Dose, one-eightieth to one-twentieth 
grain. Also used as an antiseptic. 

Mercurial Ointment. 

Black Wash — (Thirty grains calomel, ten ounces of lime 
water). Used as a lotion to syphilitic and unhealthy sores and 
ulcers. 

CALOMEL-HydrargyrI Chloridum Mite. 

Calomel, while it has been largely used fo.* generations, is a 
medicine against which the people are strongly prejudiced. It is 
resorted to much less frequently than formerly, and when used is 
prescribed in much smaller doses. 

It is a heroic drug, and in the days of " heroic treatment " was 
the cause of great mischief. 

Many, who stand high in the profession, still believe in its 
efficacy, while others disclaim its virtue entirely. 

But, to be practical, should we ever use Calomel unless pre- 
scribed by a physician ? On the whole, I would advise not. 
Something less objectionable can generally be used in its place. 



MERCURY. 513 

It has been found that one grain will act and operate as satis- 
factorily as ten grains, which was formerly the dose ; and even 
one-half grain is often as efficient as one grain. 

Biliousness generally vanishes like magic, when calomel is taken, 
but I am not prepared to explain its modus operandi. 

Each Compound Cathartic Pill of the " U. S. P." kind contains 
one grain of calomel. While they are a most excellent purgative, 
they are not suited to continued use. The old-fashioned way of 
taking four or five Compound Cathartic Pills is barbarous. One 
or two is enough as an ordinary cathartic. 

Calomel is used a great deal externally, and an ointment com- 
posed of one drachm of calomel to one ounce of prepared lard, is 
an excellent application for a great variety of skin diseases. 

The diarrhoea and indigestion of infants, with altered stools, are 
often cured by small doses of calomel — about one-twelfth of a 
grain combined with about one grain of bi-carbonate of soda. 
It may be rubbed up with sugar, and is entirely tasteless. The 
dose of calomel is from one-tenth grain to five grains. In bilious- 
ness, acute indigestion, etc., one grain at night, after fasting, followed 
in the morning by a seidlitz powder or a dose of citrate of mag- 
nesia, will generally produce the best results. 



BLUE MASS— Massa or Pilula Hydrargyri. 

Blue Mass or Blue Pill is one-third part metallic mercury, 
rubbed up with confection of roses and licorice. 

It is one of the mildest and best of the preparations of mercury, 
well adapted to combining, in pill form, with cathartics for consti- 
pation, with tonics for dyspepsia, or with correctives for bowel 
troubles, when these diseases are due to derangement of the liver. 

Blue mass is not taken so much as formerly, and this is well. 
Podophyllin should always be chosen when there is no special 
reason for giving blue pill the preference. In certain cases of 
bowel complaints, with deficient biliary secretions, it is to be pre- 
ferred. Dose, from one to ten grains in pill form. 

Mercury with Chalk, Hydrargyrum cum Creta, also known as 
Gray Powder, is much prescribed for the summer bowd complaint* 
of children. It is milder than either Blue Mass or Calomel in its 
action. Its use belongs to the realm of professional medicine 
entirely. 

Turpeth Mineral, or Yellow Subsulphate of Mercury, occurs in 
a heavy lemon-colored powder. 

At the present time its use is confined to the treatment of croup, 

33 



514 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

and it is given as an emetic. Many physicians claim that it is the 
most effectual emetic in this affection we possess. It is given to 
children in doses of one to three grains. When used as an emetic 
it acts without depressing the system. It is, however, claimed by 
some, that if it fails to vomit, it remains in the stomach as an irri- 
tant poison. I have never known any ill effects to follow its use. 
I once heard one of America's greatest physicians say that Tur- 
peth Mineral should be kept put up in two grain powders in the 
drug stores and sold as " Croup Powders," but I cannot venture to 
recommend such a proceeding to druggists. People, however, 
run but little risk in depending upon this drug, and adminis- 
tering it judiciously when required, in croup. 



CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE-Hydrargryrum Bichloridum. 

Corrosive Sublimate, or Bichloride of Mercury, is one of the most 
dangerous and poisonous drugs in the entire Materia Medica, and 
is a most treacherous article in careless hands. 

It is, however, a chemical of great usefulness in curing many 
diseases, and also in destroying disease germs ; especially those of 
a malignant and virulent character. 

It is sold in various forms : in whitish, heavy lumps, or crystals, 
in white powder, in solution, and in tablet form. 

The dose is from one-fortieth to one-tenth grain, but it is entirely 
unfit for popular use. 

It is much used in what is known as " antiseptic surgery," which 
is the destruction of all micro-organisms, micrococci, bacilli, or 
disease germs — which are supposed to take an active part in 
unhealthy conditions following operations — and in septic lesions 
and processes generally. 

Corrosive Sublimate being one of the best known antiseptics, it 
is used as such by the physician, more often than anything else. 
It is claimed that one part of corrosive sublimate to three hundred 
thousand will destroy some species of spores. Most surgical 
operations are now performed antiseptically, i. e., the hands of 
the surgeon, the instruments, the water and sponges, the dress- 
ings, and sometimes the atmosphere are sterilized by treating 
with corrosive sublimate. The usual strength of such solutions is 
one to one thousand or two thousand, and tablets containing 
about seven and one-half grains are carried by physicians and 
dissolved when needed. Both tablets and the liquid are deadly 
poisons, and should not even be handled by those unacquainted 
with them. 



MOSS — MULLEIN. 515 

Internally, Corrosive Sublimate has been much prescribed in 
chronic blood-diseases, especially where there is a scrofulous or 
venereal taint. 

Most Bed-Bug Poisons are a solution of corrosive sublimate. 



IRISH MOSS. 
ICELAND MOSS. 

These two articles are sold by druggists ; both are mucilagin- 
ous and are used for the same purposes. The first named, how- 
ever, is used much more than the latter. 

Irish or Iceland Moss Jelly is made by adding one quart of 
water to two ounces of previously washed moss, and boiling 
slowly till very thick ; strain, and add sugar and flavoring to suit 
the taste. If the moss is soaked in cold water for ten minutes or 
longer before boiling, the taste will be improved. If milk is used 
instead of water in the above, an exceedingly nutritious food is 
formed. 

Decoctions of these mosses have been used a long time for 
colds, coughs, and catarrhal affections, but they do not possess 
any special advantage over other mucilaginous drinks, such as 
those made from flaxseed and elm. 



MULLEIN-Verbascum. 

Mullein leaves have been much used as a domestic remedy, 
and at this time, as such, they enjoy a universal reputation. 

Mullein is recommended very highly in cases of consumption 
and other wasting disorders, and it is claimed for it that where it 
is used, " the bodily weight rapidly increases, expectoration is 
more easy, and the cough much modified." 

It is generally taken in warm milk, which no doubt contributes 
much to the benefit imparted. It is also used in urinary troubles, 
irritable bladder, and as a poultice in piles. In cases of loss of 
voice, irritated throat, and asthma, the leaves may be smoked ; and 
they are often an ingredient in fumigating compounds. In the 
" winter cough " of habit, and of aged people, they are of decided 
benefit. 

Mullein has been strongly recommended by a medical writer, 
as being unusually beneficial in chronic bronchitis. The leaves 
are to be dried and smoked in a pipe the same as tobacco, two or 
three times a day. The drawing, however, must be pretty con- 



516 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

stantly kept up, or the fire in the pipe will go out. Mullein is cer< 
tainly deserving of greater prominence than it receives in medical 
practice. 

"Oil of Mullein/' an indefinite mixture, lias been strongly 
recommended as a remedy, locally applied in the ear, for deafness 
and ear-ache. It is especially popular with Homeopaths. It is 
to be dropped in the ear warm. 



MUSTARD-Sinapis. 

There are two kinds of mustard seeds, the white or yellow, and 
the brown or black ; both of which are sold whole, and in powder 
form, in the stores. The yellow is generally used. 

Mustard seed are a ton ic and stimulant to the stomach. The 
whole seed, taken in teaspoonful doses in molasses, is highly 
recommended for dyspepsia. Powdered mustard, in doses of one 
or two teaspoonfuls, is an efficient emetic. 

Mustard is used principally, however, as an external remedy, 
and, when mixed with water, makes an exceedingly useful counter- 
irritant, in the form of mustard plasters. 

It can be diluted with wheat flour, Indian or rye meal, where 
a less decided action is desired than the pure mustard will 
excite. 

When mustard plasters are applied to persons who are insensible, 
care should be taken not to allow them to stay on too long, because 
when the irritation is carried too far, blistering, with unpleasant 
ulceration, sometimes follows. From a few minutes to less than 
an hour will suffice. When the plaster is removed, the surface 
which it covered should be carefully washed, as small particles of 
the mustard will continue the irritation. 

The mustard leaves or plasters sold in the stores are an 
elegant article, and, if fresh, are the most desirable form in which 
to apply mustard. They are to be saturated, at the moment of 
application, with water or vinegar. 

Counter-irritation with mustard plasters is an exceedingly con- 
venient and effectual way of treating aches and pains generally, 
and should be resorted to much oftener than is done. 

After their removal the parts should be rubbed over with 
vaseline, lard, tallow, or cold cream, or these things may be 
applied on a cloth. 

A mustard poultice is made by adding one part of Mustard 
to four parts of Indian meal, and adding hot water. When 
applied it should be covered with oiled silk, or oiled paper, and 



MYRRH — NITRITE OF AMYL. 517 

it may remain on for hours. These are very effectual counter- 
irritants in inflammatory diseases. 

There is an Oil of Mustard sold in the stores, and occasionally 
prescribed by physicians, where a powerful impression is desired. 
It is an exceedingly penetrating substance, irritating to the nose 
and eyes, and unfit for ordinary use. 



MYRRH. 

Myrrh is sold either in the gum, in small fragments, powdered, 
or in the form of tincture. It is but little used by the profession, 
and I think would be dropped by the laity, were it not for its 
attractive name. 

The powder is often added to tooth powders, and the tincture is a 
good application to spongy gums, sore mouths, and as a mouth wash 
after the extraction of teeth. 

A few drops of it, added to water, and used as a mouth wash, 
will sweeten the breath cleanse the teeth, prevent their decay, and 
keep the gums healthy. 

If such a wash were used once or twice a day, mouths would be 
sweeter, and the teeth much more beautiful than they are. 

Tincture of Myrrh is sometimes used as a remedy for toothache, 
but it will very often fail. 

Myrrh is used internally as a stimulant and tonic, usually to 
excite either the secretions of the bowels, or the action of the 
menstrual functions. 



NITRITE OF AMYL. 

This is a clear, yellowish liquid, with a penetrating odor, very 
much like that of over-ripe fruit. It is very volatile. 

Nitrite of Ainyl is seldom taken internally. It is inhaled in 
attacks of asthma and angina pectoris, and there is no better tran- 
sient remedy for the latter disease. It may be procured in the 
form of capsules, and when an attack of angina pectoris is 
approaching, one may be crushed in the handkerchief and 
inhaled. As this is an exceedingly painful affection and imme- 
diate relief is often extremely desirable, it is a good plan for those 
who are liable to the disease to carry a supply of Nitrite of Amyl 
capsules, and use them when needed. 



518 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



NITROGLYCERINE. 

This compound, from which dynamite is made, has become an 
agent for the cure of disease. It is a powerful drug, and is never 
dispensed in its pure state. It is sold in a one-per-cent solution, 
the dose of which is from one to three drops ; in pill form, one- 
hundredth of a grain in each pill, one to be taken at a dose. 

It is an extremely valuable medicine in that painful disease, 
angina pectoris, and in persistent hiccough. Severe neuralgia is often 
greatly benefited by it, and it is given for the weak heart of aged 
people, and in the heart complications in Bright's disease. 

It is a very powerful remedy, and its use should always be 
under the direction of a physician. 



NUX VOMICA-Strychnos Nux Vomica. 
STRYCHNINE-Strychnia. 

Strychnos, Nux Vomica, or Dog Button seeds, are imported 
from the East Indies, and the two preparations of it sold in the 
stores are the Tincture of Nux Vomica, and Strychnine (Sulphate of 
Strychnia). 

While the preparations of Nux Vomica are deadly poisons, and 
can be used only with absolute carefulness, yet they are exceed- 
ingly valuable therapeutic agents. Unless one knows how to 
use these preparations, and is thoroughly aware of their effects, it 
is exceedingly unwise to have anything to do with them. 

Nux Vomica is our chief resort when a medicine is needed 
to invigorate the motor fibres, whether nervous or muscular. 

In the various forms of chronic paralysis, Nux Vomica, in small 
doses, is almost sure to benefit. It is highly useful in that con- 
dition of the system where the muscular fibre is relaxed ; also as 
an auxiliary to other medicines in dyspepsia, constipation, and as 
a general tonic in relaxed conditions of the system. 

Dose of the tincture, one to five drops, in water, three times 
a day. 

In that condition known as nervous dyspepsia, accompanied 
with poor appetite, feeble digestion, and trembling, and in 
gastric catarrh, it ranks among the best of remedies. 

In diseases of the genito-urinary organs, whether impotence, 
incontinence of urine, nocturnal or otherwise, it should be tried. 

Solid Extract of Nux Vomica, found in pill form, especially in 
combination with other remedies, is a desirable form in which to 
take it. The dose is one-fourth ^raiti. 



COD-LIVER OIL. 519 

Tincture of Nux Vomica, in doses of from three to five drops, is 
very useful in weak stomach, attended with flatulence. 

Strychnia is largely used by physicians in various forms of 
chronic palsy, and as a general tonic in nervous disease. 

It is a direct tonic to the generative organs, and is universally 
prescribed in debility of this kind. Dose, one-sixtieth to one- 
fortieth of a grain. 

Strychnia is an exceedingly dangerous drug, and when taken in 
too large medicinal doses, it often causes muscular twitching and 
restlessness, in which case the dose should be greatly decreased. 

The poisonous nature of Nux Vomica limits its use much more 
than it should. Intelligent carefulness in handling it renders it 
harmless, and brings into use one of the most potent remedies in 
the whole realm of medicine. 

Those who lead sedentary lives, who are troubled with constipa- 
tion, sluggish digestion, headache, and biliousness; those who are 
flabby in muscle, and weak ; and those who are variously 
troubled with functional disorders, resulting from impaired 
nerve force, whether manifesting itself in St. Vitus's dance, bed- 
wetting, or the catarrhal tendencies of childhood; the "nervous 
exhaustion," general debility, and dyspepsia of middle life ; or the 
enfeebled health, impaired nutrition, and premature old age, Nux 
Vomica, in moderate doses, taken with systematic perseverance, 
produces the most gratifying results. 

When added to preparations of Iron, it overcomes the consti- 
pating effect of the iron ; when added to Quinine, it furnishes an 
admirable auxiliary; and when added to cathartics, it greatly 
improves their action. 

The good effects to be gained by taking from three to five drops 
of tincture of Nux Vomica three times a day, as a tonic, will com- 
pare favorably with the benefits to be derived from any of the 
tremendously advertised and high-priced "tonics," " invigorators," 
and " restorers," which flood the patent medicine market, and if 
carefully handled no harm can result from its use. 



COD-LIVER OIL— Oleum Morrhuae. 

This oil is obtained from the livers of the common cod-fish, 
well-known along the New England coast. There are three 
varieties; the pale yellow, light brown, and dark. The pale oil 
is to be preferred, it being extracted while the livers are fresh ; it 
is less disagreeable to the taste than the darker varieties. 

Contrary to a general rule in most matters, the cod-liver oil 



520 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

sold by the druggist already bottled, is of better quality than that 
which he dispenses in bulk. It is impossible to keep it perfectly 
in bulk, as the cork will become rancid and contaminate the 
entire package. Most druggists transfer an entire invoice as soon 
as received, from bulk to bottles, and hermetically seal, and in 
this way their own brand is of desirable quality. 

Cod liver oil should be kept in a dark, cool place and well 
corked and the mouth of the bottle kept clean, as the accumulated 
oil will turn rancid. It is best not to refill bottles once used. 

Cod-liver oil is recognized as a constructive agent, long estab- 
lished by clinical experience. 

Its mode of action is not well understood. Whether its virtue 
depends upon the chemical ingredients contained therein, or on 
the fact that the oil is more easily assimilated than other fats, is 
not yet settled. 

It is, however, a remedy of great importance, and capable of 
producing excellent results in many cases of consumption, scrofula, 
debilitated 'physical conditions, chronic rheumatism, bronchitis, catarrh, 
and in weak constitutions, whether inherited, acquired, or resulting 
as sequels of some destroying disease. 

Cod-liver Oil, it should be remembered, is much more beneficial 
to the young than to the aged, and is much better adapted to 
chronic than to acute forms of disease. 

While it is of great value in consumption, it is hardly admissible 
during rapid progress of that disease ; especially is this true when 
there is much fever. 

Again, as all fatty substances are better assimilated in cold than 
in warm weather, Cod-liver Oil is much better borne, and can be 
given much more freely during winter than in summer. 

The author is convinced, by much experience, that probably 
the greater part of the cod-liver oil taken does more harm than 
good. This is because persons in using it, and physicians in pre- 
scribing it, are not as judicious as they should be in considering 
peculiar features which attend its use in individual cases. For 
instance, it should not be used if it is rancid, and much that is 
sold is in this condition. It should be used plain, unless it can be 
made more palatable in an emulsion. It should not be continued 
when the stomach becomes disordered by its use, when it destroys 
the appetite, or when it becomes so offensive that it nauseates. 

In very warm weather it should be used sparingly, or not at 
all ; and in cold weather its use should be occasionally suspended 
for a few days, to give the stomach a rest. 

These considerations are alluded to because they are difficulties 



COD-LIVER OIL. 521 

continually encountered in its administration, and it is well at all 
times to consider its use from an experimental standpoint. If it 
agrees with the patient it is doing good, and should be continued ; if it 
disagrees it does harm, and unless the obstacle can be overcome it 
should be withheld. 

The various emulsions of Cod-liver oil, with which the market 
is flooded, are not to be depended upon. Some of them are fairly- 
acceptable preparations, but many of them are objectionable. 
Most of them contain the hypophosphites and other ingredients. 
As a rule, the oil should be given alone, or in plain emulsion. If 
other medicines are indicated they can be given separately. The 
patent emulsions are made with gum-arabic, Irish moss, dextrine, 
soap-bark or other substance more or less objectionable to the 
delicate stomach — such as those requiring the use of cod-liver oil 
almost invariably possess — and when a bottle is purchased there 
is no way of knowing how old and stale it may be. 

Any competent druggist can compound an emulsion in every 
way superior to the ready-made articles. The National Formu- 
lary contains a number of excellent formulas, both with and 
without the hypophosphites, and they can be flavored to suit indi- 
vidual tastes. The Phosphatic Emulsion of the National Formu- 
lary is made with egg, and contains phosphoric acid, and is a very 
excellent preparation. Any druggist can prepare it. 

"Tasteless Cod Livek Oil/' found in all drug stores, is a 
vinous solution of certain extracts of cod livers, usually with hypo- 
phosphites added. It contains no oil. It is considered inferior to 
the pure oil preparations, but can be taken by some people who 
are nauseated by genuine oil. The following forms a desirable 
home-made emulsion and can be mixed at time of taking : Put a 
spoonful each of condensed milk and water in a small cup with a 
few drops of essence of wintergreen. Mix well with a spoon, then 
add the dose of cod liver oil and stir thoroughly and swallow. Ex- 
tract of malt combines well with cod liver oil, and there are sev- 
eral reliable brands on the market. 

The emulsions of cod-liver oil placed on the market by the Mal- 
tinc Manufacturing Company of New York are thoroughly 
reliable. The pure oil is, however, the best form to use, if it can 
be so taken, and much can be done to render it palatable. A 
pinch of salt placed on the tongue just before and another pinch 
just after swallowing the oil, will almost entirely disguise the 
taste; if thirty drops of oil of bitter almonds are added to a pint 
of the pure oil, its odor and taste are greatly improved ; a little 
lime water to each dose will make it more pleasant to the taste 



522 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

and assist in its digestion. Never allow any oil to come in con- 
tact with the lips, and no matter how taken, it should be gulped 
down in a hurry. Children frequently learn to relish it. 

Dose, from a tea- to a tablespoonful, beginning with the small 
dose and increasing ; small doses long continued should be the 
rule. When free oil globules are noticed in the stools, the dose 
should be lessened. Anointings with cod-liver oil are sometimes 
very useful where the stomach refuses it. This plan is especially 
adapted for children and sickly young women, who catch cold 
easily. One or two ounces are to be rubbed into the skin just 
before retiring, the patient having previously taken a tepid bath. 
It is sometimes used externally with benefit in chronic skin dis- 
eases of the scaly and scrofulous varieties. 



CASTOR OIL— Oleum Ricini. 

Castor beans, from which Castor Oil is procured, are poisonous, 
and should never be eaten. Castor oil, obtained from the castor 
bean, when pure, is nearly colorless. It has a very faint odor and 
taste, both of which are, to most persons, disagreeable, nauseating, 
and to many sickening. 

On account of the mildness of its action, its non-irritating 
qualities, and its soothing properties, it is a most valuable 
cathartic, and, as such, is constantly used in both domestic and 
professional j>ractice. 

When the bowels are irritated or inflamed, or at the outset of 
diarrhoea, dysentery, or the various fevers, there is no better purga- 
tive than Castor Oil. One dose will often cure a " cold in the 
boivels" and when a person is constipated and feels a bad cold 
coming on, it can be greatly modified, perhaps warded off, by a 
dose of Castor Oil. 

It is specially useful in the various bowel affections of children, 
and can be used with more safety perhaps than any other medi- 
cine. It is not as distasteful to young children as to adults, and 
frequently they offer but little objection to taking it. Mixed 
with an equal quantity of Spiced Syrup of Rhubarb, its taste 
is largely disguised, and its good effects in diarrhoea and dysen- 
tery increased. 

Dose, for an infant, one teaspoonful ; child three to five years, one 
to three teaspoonfuls ; ten years, two to four teaspoonfuls; adult 
dose, one to three tablespoonfuls, shaken in warm milk or coffee. 

The greatest drawback to the use of Castor Oil is its bad taste. 
This can. however, as a rule, be overcome. 



CROTON OIL. 523 

To thoroughly shake it with three or four times its quantity of 
warm milk in a bottle, and transfer to a teacup or tumbler, and 
drink at once, disguises the taste almost completely, and this can 
be done in any home. 

It may be taken in warm, strong coffee, or if convenient, a 
druggist can easily float it in soda water, if he has a fountain ; 
in this Way the taste can be completely disguised. 

Perhaps one of the best methods is to take it in glycerine. Put 
three or four teaspoonfuls of glycerine into a small cup or glass, and 
agitate it so the inside will be coated with the glycerine. Pour 
on this the Castor Oil, and take it down at one or two swallows. 
The glycerine seems to carry the oil before it, and wipe away 
every particle of it, leaving only the taste of the glycerine in the 
mouth. Two or three drops of oil of cinnamon, wintergreen, or 
lemon, may be previously stirred with the glycerine to give it a 
decided flavor. 

Tasteless Castor Oil, as found bottled in drug stores, is 
pure oil with the taste disguised. Standard brands are entirely 
reliable, and may be used in all cases where castor oil is objection- 
able. 

After the cathartic effect of Castor Oil has passed, the bowels 
are apt to rest, and be somewhat constipated. 

Castor Oil is supposed to promote the growth of the hair, and 
enters largely into pomades and hair tonics. Under its use, how- 
ever, the hair becomes stiff and greasy, and requires an occasional 
cleansing. 

CROTON OIL-Oleum Tiglii. 

Croton Oil is from the seeds of the Croton tree of the East 
Indies, and is a very powerful medicine. 

One or two drops on the tongue, or given in bread crumb, will 
operate on the bowels, and, as an external application, it is used 
where a powerful counter-irritant is needed. It is occasionally 
called for by customers, to be used on the chest in pulmonary 
difficulties, but it is not suited for popular use. It may be diluted 
with one or two parts of olive oil or turpentine, when a milder 
effect is desired. 

Croton Oil Liniment consists of Croton Oil, thirty drops ; Sweet 
Oil, one-half ounce. This liniment is sometimes applied to the 
chest in consumption. 

It produces an eruption and redness of the skin. Care should 
be taken not to get it in the eyes. 



524 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



COCO-NUT OIL. 

Coco-nut Oil should not be confounded with cacao-butter. The 
former is made from the coco-nut, the latter from the chocolate 
nut. 

Coco-nut Oil resembles lard very much in appearance, but is 
much more easily affected by the temperature. It is as hard as 
suet when cold, and liquefies at about 80° F. It has a bland taste, 
and a characteristic but not unpleasant odor. 

It has often been classed with cod-liver oil as a remedy for 
scrofula and consumption, and it no doubt possesses some virtues 
as a constructive agent. Some years ago it had quite a sale and 
was widely used, chiefly by anointing, for its nutritive effects in 
wasting diseases. 

Anointing the body is a valuable method of overcoming the 
tendency to catch cold, and there is no better substance for this pur- 
pose than coco-nut oil. If faithfully applied with liberal friction, 
it will prove beneficial in a number of affections attended with 
denutrition, such as scrofula, consumption, rheumatism, and 
anaemia. 

As an excipient for ointments it is often to be preferred to 
other articles because it melts readily, is easily absorbed by the 
skin and favors the absorption of any medicament it may contain. 



LINSEED OIL. 

Linseed oil (raw, hot boiled) is laxative in doses of two or 
three tablespoonfuls, but, on account of its taste, it is seldom used 
internally. 

It is an excellent remedy for piles, taken in the above dose, 
morning and evening. 

Equal parts of lime ivater and linseed oil mixed form a well- 
known application for burns. 



OLIVE OIL. 
SWEET OIL. 
COTTONSEED OIL. 

The above oils may well be classed together, as they are 
very closely related in commerce and in general utility. 

Genuine Olive Oil is produced chiefly in southern Europe, Aus- 
tralia and California. The quality varies, but every capable drug- 



opium. 525 

gist can supply the best brands bottled and an equally desirable 
article bought in bulk and bottled by himself. The light and lim- 
pid has the finer flavor, but many relish the heavier oil ; the latter 
usually being sold at a much less price. The Pure Food Law re- 
quires all oil sold under the label "Olive Oil" or "Sweet Oil" to 
be unadulterated Olive Oil. The cheaper grades are well suited 
for liniments. 

Cottonseed oil is now manufactured on a large scale, and is 
rapidly taking the place of imported olive oil, both in medicine 
and as an article of diet. Applied externally, olive oil forms a 
good protective from the air, and renders the skin soft and pliable. 
In regard to the latter qualities, it is superior to vaseline. For 
burns and scalds, especially when mixed with an equal quantity 
of lime water, it is one of the best of remedies. It is rubbed on 
the surface to prevent the itching, and to favor the scaling off of 
the eruption of scarlet fever. 

These oils are largely employed in liniments, ointments, and as 
vehicles for external applications. 

Olive oil is mildly laxative, and is especially suitable for infants. 
It may be used as an injection, followed by the use of warm 
water. 

When a corrosive poison has been swallowed, olive oil acts 
mechanically as an antidote ; that is, it protects the tissues. 



OPIUM. 

Opium in its pure state is not suitable for medicinal use. 

Its preparations, Laudanum, Paregoric, Dover's Powder, Morphia, 
Bateman's Drops, Godfrey's Cordial, Dewees's Carminative, Wistar's 
Cough Lozenges, Deodorized Laudanum, Brown's Mixture, and some 
others of less importance, are in general use, and well known. 

These preparations are sold to almost an unlimited extent, and 
some one of them can be found in almost every household. Of all 
the articles of the entire materia medica, opium, in its various 
forms, enjoys the widest range of therapeutic application. 

Taken internally, it relieves pain, induces sleep, relaxes muscular 
spasm, and quiets the nerves. When applied locall}' - , it modifies 
inflammation, relieves pain, and promotes the healing process. 

For the relief of cough, in pulmonary affections, it has no equal, 
and it is an ingredient of most all cough medicines. In a word, 
some form of opium is constantly prescribed for the whole range 
of diseases where pain is a prominent symptom. 

In the spasm and pain of colic, diarrhoea, dysentery, spasm of the 



52G MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

stomach, bowels, bladder, or any part of the body, in rheumatism, 
gout, neuralgia, and for the pain and excitement attending injuries, 
it is used both internal^ and externally. 

Indeed, from a strictly medical standpoint, opium may well 
be called " The great gift of God." 

The Opium Habit is quickly formed, and no preparation of 
opium should be taken continuously unless ordered by a physician. 
I know of nothing in the whole realm of medicine so subtle as 
the influence of opium. Its full limit of usefulness consists in pro- 
ducing temporary relief, and if a disease is more than transient, 
some other remedy should be employed. Thousands of people 
who began to take an opiate for some painful affection, are to-day 
hopeless victims of the habit. 

It is stated that opium kills more people than alcohol, and that 
Soothing Syrups and Sleeping Cordials destroy thousands of chil- 
dren annually. 

If such be true — and we have good reasons to believe it — the 
use of opium in all its forms should be curtailed to the most rigid 
limits, and under no circumstance should it be used for any length 
of time. It is an extremely " sharp-edged tool," and at all times 
its use should be accompanied with signals of warning. It should 
not be given for all kinds of pain ; far from it; but only in those 
cases where it tends to relieve the condition to which the pain is 
due, and when its use is absolutely necessary. 

LAUDANUM. 

Laudanum is the Tincture of Opium, and in every respect repre- 
sents the qualities of the drug. It is the only pure or " straight " 
preparation of opium. It may be used when no modification of 
the effect of opium is needed, and as an external remedy it should 
always be chosen. 

The dose of laudanum is from five to twenty drops for an adult. 
Children bear opiates badly, and, as a rule, laudanum should not 
be given to them. One-half drop for each year of the child's age 
will be a sufficient dose to begin with. 

It may be used in all cases where the effect of opium is re- 
quired. For internal use paregoric is to be preferred, unless the 
laudanum be in combination. 

Deodorized Laudanum, or Deodorized Tincture of Opium, has 
the same strength as ordinary laudanum. It is much more 
pleasant for internal use, as some of the obnoxious ingredients 
of opium are eliminated in its manufacture. 

McMunrfs Elixir of Opium, a proprietary preparation of opium, 



opium. 527 

has had quite a large sale. It is very similar to the deodorized 
tincture of opium, and there is absolutely no need whatever of 
the article on the market. It does much more harm than good. 
All preparations of opium are harmful — exceedingly harmful — 
when their use goes beyond a certain limit. 

LEAD-WATER AND LAUDANUM. 

This is a very old and deservedly popular lotion. It is mixed 
in various degrees of strength, the following being, perhaps, well 
suited to general use : — 

A— 527.— LEAD- WATER AND LAUDANUM. 

Goulard's extract, 1 drachm 

Laudanum, 4 drachms 

Water to make 8 ounces. 

Mix. Poison. Lead-water and Laudanum. For external use only. 

It is used universally for sprains, bruises, painful swellings, and 
inflammatory conditions. It is applied by wetting cloths with it. 
If it be applied to the face of poultices, their anodyne properties 
are greatly increased. Care must be taken in applying it to sur- 
faces where the skin is broken, as its poisonous qualities are some- 
times absorbed. 

DOVER'S POWDER. 

This medicine is composed of opium, one grain ; ipecac, one 
grain ; sugar of milk, eight grains. It is a very valuable com- 
pound in the hands of the profession. Five to ten grains of 
Dover's powder taken at bedtime, at the very beginning of a bad 
cold, will usually stop its course. Dover's powder should not be 
given to children. Dose, three to ten grains. 

PAREGORIC. 

Paregoric — Tincture Opii Camphorata, or Camphorated Tincture 
of Opium — contains opium, camphor, benzoic acid, and anise, and 
is an extremely valuable preparation. It is mild in its action, 
and pleasant to the taste. It may be taken, when required, by 
old or young, and is of all opiates the most desirable preparation 
for general internal use. 

In painful affections of the urinary apparatus it is of special value. 
Dose for an adult, one or two teaspoonmls ; for a child three days 
old, two drops; one week old, four drops; one month old, six 
drops; one year old, ten drops; five years old, twenty drops. 



528 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

A great deal of mischief can be done by dosing children with 
paregoric. Numberless infants are annually killed with opiates, 
and that paregoric is one should be remembered. 



BATEMAN'S DROPS. 

This preparation is very similar in composition and effect to 
paregoric, and is used for the same purposes. My experience has 
convinced me that babies are dosed with Bateman's Drops much 
more than with paregoric. People should be taught that it is an 
opiate and is capable of doing all the harm accompanying the use 
of opium. 

GODFREY'S CORDIAL. 

Godfrey's Cordial is somewhat similar to paregoric, but does not 
contain nearly so much opium. It does not constipate the bowels 
like other opiates, as it is made with molasses. Its use could easily 
be dispensed with. 

BROWN MIXTURE. 

This pectoral mixture (Mistura Glycyrrhizse Composita) contains 
a small quantity of opium, antimonial wine, and sweet spirits of 
nitre. It is a dark syrupy mixture flavored with powdered licorice 
and anise. It is an excellent cough mixture, especially adapted to 
chronic coughs. It is also much prized as a remedy for recent colds 
and bronchial troubles. 

Brown Mixture Lozenges (not " Brown's Bronchial Troches ") 
can be procured in any drug store, and if not used too freely are 
an excellent remedy for irritated throat and bronchitis. They 
should be allowed to slowly dissolve in the mouth. 



MORPHIA; 

Morphia, or morphine, is made and sold in three forms : Sul- 
phate of Morphia, Acetate op Morphia, and Muriate of 
Morphia ; the sulphate is, however, used almost exclusively. 
It is sold in powder and pill form, and in solution. Morphia, as 
is well known, is the hypnotic and anodyne principle of opium. 
It is extremely poisonous, and has proved fatal in overdoses 
in many instances. It resembles quinine very much in appear- 
ance, and a number of deaths have occurred in consequence of 
druggists selling it for quinine, and people cannot be too careful 
in handling these two articles. The dose is from one-twentieth to 
one-fourth grain, in pill or in solution. 



LIVER AND STOMACH PADS. 529 

In the hands of the profession morphia is a remedy of great 
usefulness, but it is not safe in the hands of those who do not fully 
appreciate its power. 

When the object is to relieve pain or quiet the nerves, morphia is 
by far the best preparation of opium. As an internal remedy its 
use has almost superseded the other preparations. 

It should be remembered that all preparations of opium are 
constipating; that they cause a determination of blood to the 
brain, and consequently are not appropriate remedies in many 
brain troubles. Morphia is apt to damage the stomach. It is 
much more effectual when given hypodermically. 



CODEINE-Codeina. 

Codeine or Codeia is an ingredient of opium, and is supposed to 
possess properties similar to those of the crude drug, but this is 
somewhat doubtful. Its use by the profession is quite promiscuous. 



APOMORPHIA. 

Apomorphia, technically called Hydrochlorate of Apomorphia, 
and made from morphia, is poisonous, and unfit for general use. 

It is a powerful emetic. One-tenth of a grain injected under the 
skin with a hypodermic syringe will generally cause vomiting in 
a few minutes. When taken internally, the dose must be some- 
what increased. 

It is extremely valuable when time is an object, or when it is 
impossible to give medicine through the mouth. 

Its use should be confined to professional practice entirely. 



LIVER AND STOMACH PADS. 

As many of these pads are being sold in different localities, we 
give them a passing notice. 

We cannot by any course of reasoning, or by observation, admit 
the claims which have been made in regard to this kind of 
medication. I once asked a vender of these pads by what process 
they cured disease. He informed me that he did not know, but 
supposed it was "the imagination." The only thing he could 
think of in the way of real virtue was " the warmth imparted by 
the pad." 

Holman's Liver Pad is said to be composed of ground fenugreek 
and flaxseed (25 ozs. each) ; pitch, sandarach, and galbanum (15 

34 



530 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

ozs.) ; powdered cloves, cinnamon, and mace (If ozs.), mixed 
together. 

Justice, however, demands that they be pronounced harmless. 
In some instances, they may impart a salutary influence. 



PEPPERMINT-Mentha Piperita. 

ESSENCE OF PEPPERMINT-Spiritus Menthae Piperita*. 

OIL OF PEPPERMINT-Oleum Menthse Piperitse. 

MENTHOL. 

Peppermint is a well-known herb, and grows in most parts of 
the world. 

When taken into the stomach it is an active, diffusive stimu- 
lant, carminative, and antispasmodic. 

It is extremely useful in colic, wind dyspepsia, flatulency, spasms, 
and cramps. 

When given with cathartics, it prevents their griping, and is 
often used to disguise the taste of other medicines. By its stimu- 
lating effect upon the stomach it checks nausea and vomiting. 

The Essence is the best preparation for internal use ; dose, five 
to twenty drops in sweetened water, preferably warm. 

Peppermint water can be procured at all drug stores. It feebly 
represents the virtues of the herb. 

Peppermint tea is a very useful domestic remedy, and well suited 
to the treatment of infantile colic. 

Peppermint Lozenges of good quality may be dissolved in warm 
water and given to infants for griping and wind, one-fourth of one 
being enough for a dose. Such lozenges taken by adults will 
relieve spasms, gripings, and flatulence. 

A small quantity of peppermint added to castor oil, rhubarb, 
etc., greatly removes their disagreeable taste and renders them 
more acceptable to the stomach. 

Externally, peppermint is a very valuable remedy. "Oil of 
peppermint is one of the best remedies we have for neuralgia." 
A cloth wet with it should be laid upon the affected parts and 
covered with oiled silk or paper, to prevent evaporation. Locally 
applied, it will often relieve the pain of rheumatism. 

Menthol, sometimes called Chinese Oil of Peppermint, is sold in 
the stores, either in bulk or in cones fastened on a wooden or 
metal handle and protected by a hollow cap, which fastens to the 
handle by a screw. These cones when made of pure menthol are 
an extremely valuable remedy for local neuralgia and superficial 
rheumatism. 



PEPSIN — PANCREATIN — INGLUVIN. 531 

A small crystal of menthol introduced into the cavity of a tooth 
will generally afford prompt relief from toothache. 

Instead of the cones, an alcoholic solution of menthol may be 
applied as follows : — 

A— 531.— MENTHOL LINIMENT. 

Menthol, 3 drachms 

Alcohol, 1 i ounces. 

Mix. 

For neuralgia of the face and slight headache, I have for years 
been in the habit of dispensing a mixture of equal parts of essence 
of peppermint and ether. It has given universal satisfaction, and 
if it is desired to make it stronger, a few drops of oil of pepper- 
mint, or a few crystals of menthol, may be added. 



PEPSIN. 

PANCREATIN. 

INGLUVIN. 

Pepsin is obtained from the mucous membrane of the stomach 
of the pig, sheep, and calf. It is the digestive principle of the 
gastric juice, and a pure, unadulterated article, is capable of 
digesting five hundred times its weight of hard-boiled egg, 
albumen, or its equivalent in other forms of food. 

Pepsin is never sold in its absolutely pure state, and much of 
that dispensed is practically inert. " Pepsin in Scales," " Crystal 
Pepsin," and " Pure Powdered Pepsin," are all manufactured on a 
large scale. 

Saccharated Pepsin consists of seventeen parts of powdered 
pepsin mixed with eighty-three parts of sugar of milk. Although 
it has been prescribed largely for many years, it does not possess 
much value. 

Wine of Pepsin, Elixir of Pepsin, and the various alcoholic 
mixtures containing pepsin, either alone or in combination with 
other medicines, are almost inert; because, as should be well 
known, the presence of alcohol greatly impairs the virtue of 
pepsin. 

Liquid Pepsin, or Liquor Pepsin, is non-alcoholic, and although 
feeble in its action, it is one of the most reliable preparations of 
pepsin in use. Dose, one to four teaspoonfuls. 

Pangreatin is obtained from the juice of the pancreas or 
" sweet breads " of the pig, and is closely related to pepsin. They 
are much prescribed in combination. 



532 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Powdered Pancreatin and Liquid Pancreatin are the best prepa- 
rations, though many others are on the market. 

Ingluvin (Ventriculm Callosus Gallina) is a digestive principle 
obtained from the lining membrane of the gizzard of the chicken. 

It has been largely used as a remedy for the vomiting of preg- 
nancy, and is considered by many as almost a specific for this 
distressing affection. It is sold in bottles at the drug stores. 

The subject of these digestive agents has evoked much contro- 
versy during the past few years. The preponderance of opinion 
is that their virtues have been greatly overestimated. 

Pepsin is a natural and necessary secretion into the cavity of 
the stomach during the process of digestion. Its office seems to 
be to co-operate with the acids of the stomach in converting 
nitrogenous foods (caseine, albumen, fibrin, etc.) into peptones. 

After this has been accomplished, the food passes on into the 
bowel, and during its passage through the first section the pan- 
creatic juice is poured out, and digests the oils and fats of the 
food. This latter secretion is alkaline, while that of the stomach 
is acid. 

While the theory of administering pepsin and pancreatin is a 
plausible one, practice has demonstrated them to be of limited 
value. 

One of the best authorities in the United States says : " Probably 
four-fifths of the pepsin which has been given has been inert, either 
originally or from the method of its administration, and in the 
great majority of cases the good that has been achieved has been 
probably due, not to the pepsin, but to the regulation of the diet 
and habits of the patient, and to drugs which have been exhibited 
along with the animal ferment." The above is a sorry comment 
upon the discriminating powers of the profession of medicine, yet 
the truth of the statement cannot be denied. 

Pepsin, Pancreatin, and Ingluvin are, however valuable rem- 
edies, and if properly administrated are capable of doing much 
good. 

Do not put much dependence in peptonized or digested mix- 
tures of cod-liver oil, malt, beef, etc., where an effort has been 
made to digest food in the bottle. The country is flooded with 
peptonized preparations, and people are made to believe that all 
the stomach has to do is to expand to receive them, and they will 
develop themselves into muscle, bone, and blood — a representation 
by no means true. Pepsin is, however, very beneficial in some 
forms of dyspepsia, especially in weak and bloodless persons 
who are " run down," or who are victims of debilitating diseases 
which disturb the digestive functions, such as consumption, 



PEPTONIZED MILK. ^£3 

chronic diarrhoea, or that form of dyspepsia brought on by over- 
taxing the stomach with improper food or alcoholic stimulants. 
When the secretion of gastric juice is deficient, pepsin will always 
benefit. 

It must not be assumed that dyspepsia is entirely confined to 
the stomach. Important functions exist beyond the region of 
the stomach, and even the best of pepsin will utterly fail in many 
cases of this disorder. No physician can determine beforehand 
just what cases will be benefited by pepsin, or when pancreatin 
will act better. Trial only will determine. 

Pepsin is one of the best remedies we have for the diarrhoea of 
infants, especially when the disease seems to " linger " during the 
summer months. 

The dose of pepsin is from five to thirty grains. 

The dose should be large, and the saccharated pepsin of the 
market should be avoided. It should be taken during a meal or 
immediately after, and is best taken in neutral solution or with an 
acid. 

The dose of Liquid Pancreatin is from a teaspoon- to a table- 
spoonful. It should be taken about one hour after eating, and is 
best taken alone, or with an alkali, such as bicarbonate of soda. 

If the food is largely albuminous, pepsin should be selected ; 
if the food be fatty or oily, pancreatin is preferable. 

None but reliable brands of pepsin and pancreatin should be 
used. 

Peptonized Milk forms a most important diet when the 
stomach is unable or refuses to digest food, especially during the 
progress of serious diseases. Any druggist can furnish peptonizing 
preparations ready to use, with full directions to prepare. 



PEROXIDE OF HYDROGEN. 

Peroxide of Hydrogen is a solution, in water, of about 3 per 
cent, or 10 volumes of available oxygen. Chemically it is H 2 2 . 

Peroxide of Hydrogen is a remedy of great value, and should 
be in every household and used more than it is. It is non-poison- 
ous. It should never be used in metal spoons or metal tubed 
atomizers, but in those made of glass, rubber or other non-cor- 
rosive material. 



534 MEDICIXE AXD OT1IEK REMEDIES. 

It is the greatest destroyer of pus known, with which it causes 
an evolution of gas and white froth, leaving the parts purified. 

It is invaluable for cleansing infected luounds, ulcers, malig- 
nant growths, open abscesses, boils and unhealthy abraded sur- 
faces. It is perhaps the best known application to subdue the 
false membrane of diphtheria and scarlet fever, applied with a 
swab or atomizer. It is an excellent gargle diluted with water or 
mixed with alkaline antiseptic solution. 

As a nasal spray it may be diluted with from 2 to 6 parts of 
water. It is an excellent mouth wash when teeth are decayed or 
the breath offensive. For cleansing ulcers and abscesses, pour a 
few drops into the sore and allow it to act ; repeat until the froth- 
ing ceases and then apply proper dressings. 

For cuts and wounds dilute with three parts of water and 
apply. For mosquito bites and stings of insects apply full strength 
on absorbent cotton. 

It can be used freely for chapped lips and hands and applied on 
cloths will greatly relieve the effects of sunburn. A teaspoon- 
ful in water forms a refreshing face bath after shaving. 

Peroxide of Hydrogen is a powerful bleacher, and contact with 
colored fabrics should be avoided. This quality, however, gives 
it value for toilet purposes as in manicuring the nails and where 
its cleansing and bleaching qualities are desired. 



PERUVIAN BARK— Cinchona. 

There are several varieties of Peruvian Bark, the principal 
kinds being the Red, the Yellow, and the Pale. Of the above- 
named varieties the Yellow contains the most quinine, and the 
Pale the least. 

Peruvian Bark, although seldom sold in the crude form, fur- 
nishes a variety of preparations and alkaloids; and these, in 
various combinations, embrace a very great number of drug store 
commodities. 

Fluid Extracts, Tinctures, Elixirs, Tablets, and Pills, representing 
the various principles of Peruvian Bark, are found in almost 
endless variety in the prescription department of every pharmacy. 



PERUVIAN BARK. 535 

The following are the most important preparations of Peruvian 
or Cinchona Bark. 

Compound Tincture of Cinchona — Tinctura Cinchonse Com- 
posite — is composed of Red Bark, Virginia Snake Root, and Bitter 
Orange Peel. Although differing slightly in composition, it is 
sold in America as Huxham's Tincture of Bark. It is an 
excellent tonic to the stomach, but does not represent the strength 
of the alkaloids that it should. 



QUININE-Quinina. 

Quinine, which means Sulphate of Quinia, is made from 
Cinchona or Peruvian Bark. 

Quinine is one of the most valuable agents in the whole domain 
of medicine. 

In the treatment of fevers of miasmatic or malarial origin, in 
intermittent and remittent fever, in malaria in all its forms, and as 
a preventive of these maladies, its virtues are unequaled. 

In erysipelas it is almost a specific. 

In yellow fever, typhoid fever, whether that of the technical 
variety or typhoid conditions generally, the hectic fever of con- 
sumption, also in rheumatism, diarrhoea, dysentery, when they 
begin to weaken the system, and in most all cases in malarious 
districts its use will prove beneficial. 

In neuralgia, St. Vitus's dance, and in all nervous diseases, it is 
used as a tonic. During convalescence it is often of great service. 

A full dose at the beginning of a " bad cold " will often stop its 
course. 

In malarious districts almost all diseases in their action will 
show an intermittent trend, due to malarious influences. Rheu- 
matism, typhoid fever, and many other fevers will show this, and 
it indicates that Quinine is required in the treatment. 

The utility of Quinine is due to the fact that it is a tonic 
remedy, with not only a broad, but specific range of action on the 
brain, nerves, and blood. 

There is a prejudice in the minds of many people against 
Quinine. Patent medicine men have cried it down as something 
that would " get into the bones " and do great injury. It is also 
said that it causes buzzing in the ears, and sometimes temporary 
deafness. This ringing in the ears is not an indication that it ia 
injurious at all, and it rapidly subsides when the medicine is dis- 
continued. The writer has dispensed quinine to thousands of 
people, and he is to know of the first permanent ill effect from its 
use. Vet it is not wise for those who are deaf, predisposed to eai 



536 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

diseases, or who are peculiarly sensitive to its influence, to take it 
unless as directed by a physician. Quinine is superior to Cincho- 
nidia, Cinchona, or Chinoidine, although in special cases these 
other products of Peruvian Bark serve a good purpose. 

What is the best way to take quinine ? is a question frequently 
asked. The writer invariably recommends the gelatine-coated pills 
unless there are special reasons for its use in some other form. 
While most sugar-coated pills are quite soluble, yet there are those 
on the market so insoluble as to pass through the bowels without 
undergoing any change. The gelatin-coated are much easier 
swallowed, and after handling them daily for years I am con- 
vinced that they are in every respect the best form in which to 
administer quinine. 

They can be procured at almost any drug store, and from 
reliable manufacturers, containing one, two, and three grains 
each. 

The dose for an adult is from one to ten grains daily. 

The old-fashioned mixture of quinine in water, and cut with 
acid, is unnecessarily bitter. Rubbed up with syrup and flavored 
with licorice it is far less bitter, and it is now generally so pre- 
scribed when desired in solution, especially for children. 

There is a number of Elixirs on the market containing qui- 
nine in combination — the most elegant one of which, to my mind, 
is Elixir of Iron, Quinine, and Strychnine. This is an excellent, 
palatable tonic, admissible in a very great number of cases where 
a tonic medicine is indicated. 

Quinine is often used in hair preparations, for its local, tonic 
effect. 

Sulphate of Cinchonidia and Sulphate of Cinchona. — 
When quinine cost several dollars an ounce, the above prepara- 
tions were often substituted, as they were much cheaper than the 
more active alkaloid of Peruvian Bark. 

Cinchonidia and cinchona both resemble quinine in appear- 
ance, taste, and medical qualities. They are less powerful as 
antiperiodics, but many claim that in fever and ague, after the 
chills have been broken, they are to be preferred. Since the price 
of quinine is within the reach of all, these medicines are seldom 
prescribed ; indeed, I cannot recall a single prescription requiring 
either, since the tariff law was passed lowering the price of 
quinine. 

When administered, they should be given in doses somewhat 
larger than quinine. As a tonic, one to three grains two or three 
times a day ; as an antiperiodic, ten to twenty grains per day, in 
pill form or in solution. 



PETROLEUM PRODUCTS — CATHARTIC PILLS. 537 

Chinoidine is sold in dark brown rolls or sticks, and is the last 
product from the manufacture of alkaloids from Peruvian Bark. 
It is sometimes used as a tonic and antiperiodic. Small pieces, the 
size of a pea, are broken off and swallowed several times a day. 
Its actions upon the system feebly resemble those of quinine. 



PETROLATUM. 

VASELINE. 

COSMOLINE. 

These products of petroleum are so well known that they need 
no description. In color they range from a darkish, somewhat 
yellowish color, to almost white. 

Vaseline is softer than cosmoline, and melts easier. Any drug- 
gist can supply an excellent quality of petrolatum. When the 
object is to protect the skin from the atmosphere, there is perhaps 
no better article than either of the above. They are soothing and 
bland, and never get rancid, and are much used as emollient 
dressings to sores, skin affections, and irritated surfaces generally. 

Vaseline forms a good vehicle for nasal ointments, and it has 
been recommended for colds in the nose, to be applied on the nose 
and inserted into the nostrils. Chapped hands, face, and lips, are 
rendered soft and pliable by the application of these articles. 

I have found nothing which gives better satisfaction, as a 
dressing for the hair, than Vaseline Pomade. It requires but little 
to soften the hair, it never gets rancid, is pleasant to use, and in 
every way is superior to most hair pomades. 

Liquid Cosmoline is much used as a vehicle for remedies to be 
applied to the nasal cavity. 

In every drug store may be found various preparations, the 
chief ingredient of which is petroleum, and intended for the 
skin ; they serve a most excellent purpose. 

Vaseline and cosmoline are sometimes taken internally for sore 
throat, bronchitis, hoarseness, and bad colds. They lubricate the 
throat and other parts with which they come in contact, and 
often have an excellent effect. 



CATHARTIC PILLS. 

Our drug market is flooded with cathartic pills — secret and 
non-secret, strong and mild, sugar-coated and plain, large and 
small. Their manufacture and sale forms an important part of 
the drug business of America. 

The use of cathartic pills lias become almost universal. Most 



538 MEDICINES ANE OTHER REMEDIES. 

people seem to be educated into the belief th«t mankind need 
artificial purgation. This is a mistaken idea, however, and if 
medicine of this kind were less frequently used, the people would 
enjoy much better health than they do. 

The old-fashioned or " U. S. P. Compound Cathartic Pills" contain 
among other active ingredients one grain of calomel each. While 
they are a most excellent pill for transient dosing, they are not 
suited to continued use. 

The former method of dosing with four or five of these pills at 
bedtime has happily gone out of fashion. Large doses of drastic 
cathartics, while they cleanse the bowels of their contents, strain 
the intestinal coatings and leave the bowels in a paralyzed condi- 
tion, thus inviting a constipated habit. One of these pills is 
enough in most instances. 

Vegetable Cathartic Pills are a modification of the above, 
the chief difference being the use of podophyllin instead of calo- 
mel. They are an excellent cathartic, and are among the most 
desirable pills made. Dose, one to four. 

Janeway's Pills — Compound Pills of Aloes and Podophyllin — 
contain also I grain each of Extract of Nux Vomica and Bella- 
donna, and are an excellent laxative. One or two are sufficient 
for a dose, and they are an excellent tonic as well as laxative. 
Druggists sell them in bulk. 



PINK ROOT-Spigelia. 

Pink root, also known as Spigelia, grows in the southwestern 
portion of our country, and it is considered one of the most power- 
ful vermifuges we have. Like all worm medicines, it is poisonous 
in large doses, yet feebly so, and but few serious effects attending 
its use are on record. It operates better when combined with a 
laxative, and the Fluid Extract of Spigelia and Senna, kept by all 
druggists, meets the requirements admirably, as it is quite agree- 
able to the taste. 

The dose for an adult is one half tablespoonful ; for a child two 
years old, one half to one teaspoonful, repeated every four hours 
until it purges. 



PIPSISSEWA-Chimaphila Umbellata. 

This article, also known as Prince's Pine, grows in the northern 

section of the United States ; the entire plant is used in medicine. 

It has been used for a great many purposes, but its virtues, if it 



POROUS PLASTERS — PLEURISY ROOT. bod 

has any, are very limited. It is somewhat tonic, diuretic, and 
astringent. It is employed as a domestic remedy for dyspepsia, 
scrofula, liver and urinary disorders ; it is generally given in com- 
bination with more active medicines. 



POROUS PLASTERS. 

Adhesive Plasters are made both porous and plain, but the 
former stick better, allow the escape of the secretions of the skin, 
are less irritating, and for general use are always to be pre- 
ferred. 

They are medicated with various substances, and are stimulat- 
ing, anodyne, or strengthening, according to the medicament 
which they contain. 

Capsicum or " Capctne," and Menthol Plasters, are among 
the stimulating, and when applied accelerate the circulation of 
the parts, and are well adapted to the treatment of local pains, 
rheumatism of the muscles, neuralgia, and internal congestions 
and inflammations. 

Belladonna, Opium and Belladonna, Aconite, Aconite and 
Belladonna, and Hop Plasters, are best calculated to act as local 
anodynes. Those containing Belladonna are specially useful in 
lung and bronchial affections. 

Strengthening Plasters of various sorts are on the market, 
and are well adapted to the treatment of chronic soreness and 
weakness of the muscles, and local pains generally. Allcock's 
Porous Plasters are among the best of this variety ; Arnica Plasters 
belong to this class. 

A plaster should not be worn for more than one or two weeks, 
at the end of which time it should be replaced by a new one. 



PLEURISY ROOT— Asclepias Tuberosa. 

Pleurisy root, sometimes called White Root or Colic Root, grows 
in the Southern Slates, and the root only is used in medicine. 

Pleurisy root is tonic and diuretic. 

It has been employed in pleurisy, pneumonia, catarrh, and rheu- 
matism, but it has largely passed out of use. 

The infusion, one ounce of the powder to one quart of hot 
water, may be taken in teacupful doses, every two or three hours, 
t<> produce sweating. 

Jhse of the fluid extract, one teaspoonful. 



540 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

POKE— Phytolacca. 

The root and the berries of this well-known plant are both 
used in medicine, but the root is the part principally employed. 

Although of rather indefinite effect, it is used in a variety of 
diseases. It is supposed to be curative of most all kinds of skin 
affections, and is used both internally and externally. 

It is one of the remedies used for chronic rheumatism, and is 
given internally with asserted success in granular conjunctivitis. 
A saturated solution of the berries may be taken in teaspoonful 
doses, or the fluid extract of the root may be given in doses of 
fifteen to thirty drops three or four times a day. 

Phytolacca is supposed to have a specific influence on the secre- 
tion of milk, and is used to relieve inflamed, painful, and caked 



It should be used in the form of fluid extract internally, and 
an ointment made of the solid extract externally. 

I have sold much of this ointment to be used in veterinary 
practice to prevent caking of the bag in cows. 



PREPARATIONS OF POTASH. 

ACETATE OF POTASH. 

Acetate of potash is found in the stores as a soft white powder, 
which quickly dampens if exposed to the air. 

In small doses it is diuretic, in large doses, cathartic. It is 
sometimes given in dropsy, and in kidney and urinary troubles, 
where its diuretic effects are desired. Cream of tartar is, however, 
to be preferred in dropsy. Sometimes in large doses it exercises a 
marked control over rheumatism. 

Dose, twenty to sixty grains in solution. 

CARBONATE OF POTASH. 

Carbonate of Potash, Pearlash, and Salts of Tartar, are generally 
sold from the same bottle by the druggist, the difference being in 
their purity when sold separately. Carbonate of Potash is antacid, 
diuretic, and caustic, and is occasionally prescribed in professional 
practice. It is not suited to popular use. 

Bicarbonate of Potassium is milder than the carbonate, 
pleasanter to the taste and less irritant to the stomach. It is 
much used in gout, uric acid calculi, and is one of the best reme- 



PREPARATIONS OF POTASH. 541 

dies in acute rheumatism, but to relieve the patient it must be 
given in large doses. Ordinary dose twenty to sixty grains. 

CHLORATE OF POTASH. 

This article is found in the stores in crystals and in powder 
form. During the past few years it has had an unusual reputa- 
tion as a remedy for sore throat, diphtheria, and fetid and ulcerated 
surfaces generally. It can be found in drug stores in lozenges and 
tablets of various kinds, both alone and in combination with other 
drugs. It is freely prescribed in all those diseases in which the 
blood is supposed to be poisoned. 

Outside of its local effect it does not possess much virtue as a 
remedy. 

Some of the best authorities on the subject reject it altogether. 
Its only virtue seems to be local, and it possesses undoubted 
virtue when used as a gargle. 

Chlorate of Potash lozenges are an excellent remedy for fetid 
breath, but they should not be used too freely for this purpose. 
Dissolved in water and sweetened with honey, or glycerine, it 
makes an excellent wash for sore mouth in babies. A saturated 
solution, (one ounce to one pint of water), forms an effectual gar- 
gle for the various forms of sore throat. A teaspoonful of the above 
solution may be swallowed every three or four hours. A little 
honey or glycerine added to the mixture makes it, not only more 
pleasant, but more effectual. If the sore throat is of a diphtheritic 
nature, tincture of iron may be added with advantage. 

Cohen's Gargle, containing, chlorate of potash, Guaiac, Peru- 
vian bark and snake-root, flavored with honey, can be procured 
at any drug store and is a most excellent gargle. It may be taken 
in teaspoonful doses with decided benefit in throat troubles. 

CITRATE OF POTASH. 

Citrate of Potash usually occurs in the form of a white granular 
powder, which dampens on exposure to the air. It is diuretic 
and refrigerant, and is highly prized as a remedy for fevers. 

Rheumatism, and certain urinary affections, are often greatly 
relieved by its use. 

The usual dose is from ten to twenty grains, in solution, flavored 
with lemon. 

CYANIDE OF POTASH. 

Cyanide of potash is a most deadly poison. 
It occurs in white, opaque lumps, and smells very much like 
peach kernels, or prussic acid. 



542 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

It is used by photographers, and occasionally to kill insects. 
Mention is made of it here to call attention to its poisonous 
effects. The dose is one-eighth of a grain, but it is very seldom 
used. 

PERMANGANATE OF POTASH. 

Permanganate of Potash occurs in deep purple prismatic 
crystals. It is soluble in twenty times its bulk of water, to which 
it will impart its color. 

It is seldom taken internally. 

Its solution is a powerful disinfectant, and has been largely 
used to correct the odor of ulcers, cancers, and abscesses ; for which 
purposes sixty grains to the pint of water is the proper strength. 
A solution of this strength will be found an effectual mouth wash 
and gargle for bad breath, and also to remove fetid perspirations of 
the feet. 

The chief objection to its use is the color it imparts to linen. 
This color is, however, not permanent, and can be washed out. 

It is extremely useful to purify vessels used in the sick room, 
where contagious or offensive diseases prevail. 

The stains caused by permanganate of potash are easily removed 
by washing with a solution of oxalic acid in water. 

LIQUOR POTASS^:. 

Liquor Potassse, or Solution of Potassa, is often alluded to in 
works on chemistry, it being much used in chemical tests and 
reactions. It is a clear, strongly alkaline liquid, not suited to 
medicinal purposes. 

POULTICES. 

The object of poultices is to impart heat and moisture to the 
parts. Aside from heat and moisture, they may also contain ano- 
dynes, counter-irritants, or astringents. 

Poultices unquestionably favor suppuration, or the formation 
of pus, and at the same time modify the pain, irritation, and 
local fever attending the suppurative process. 

They also act as counter-irritants in inflammatory conditions of 
internal organs, as the lungs, bowels, etc., causing a determina- 
tion of blood to the skin to which they are applied. Irritants, 
such as mustard, added to poultices, increase their counter-irritant 
qualities. When applied to influence deep-seated diseases, they 
should be large, applied hot, frequently renewed, and, as a rule, 
mustard should be added. 



POULTICES. 543 

If poultices are poorly made, as many of them are, they are 
only a nuisance. A celebrated physician once said : " Poultices 
are blessings or curses, as they are well or ill made." They 
should be made, spread, and applied quickly, and when applied 
covered with oiled silk, rubber cloth, or paper to retain the heat 
and moisture. While it is necessary for a poultice to be warm 
and wet to be of benefit, poulticing must not be overdone. When 
the parts become pale or white, swollen, relaxed, or have a sodden 
look, it has been carried too far, and should be at once discon- 
tinued. Because a physician orders that a part be poulticed, he 
does not mean that this should be continued for weeks. 

Poultices are applied as a rule, to relieve pain, subdue inflam- 
matory action, and promote suppuration; when this has been 
accomplished, the poulticing should cease. The author is ac- 
quainted with a lady whose husband had a pain in one of his 
lungs. The doctor told the wife to apply a jDoultice ; she kept 
poulticing night and day for weeks. He soon afterward died, 
and she now believes that she " poulticed him to death." 

Flaxseed meal is most used, and is perhaps the best substance 
for making poultices. Indian meal is perhaps next in value, and 
if the poultice is for some deep inflammation, one of these articles 
should be chosen. The flaxseed is the easier handled, but the 
Indian meal is said to hold the heat longer. Ground Elm bark 
makes a very superior poultice ; bread and milk poultice is non- 
irritating, and bland, but somewhat expensive. 

Plenty of water should be used in making a poultice, and, as a rule, 
it should be spread about one-third inch thick. If Glycerine be 
added it will greatly aid in prolonging the heat and moisture of 
poultices. 

Flaxseed Meal Poultice is made in the following manner : 
First scald out a dish or pan to heat it ; put in as much flaxseed 
meal as desired for the size of the poultice, and add boiling hot 
water, constantly stirring, until a soft mass (not too soft) is formed. 
Lay a piece of muslin or flannel, somewhat larger than the poul- 
tice is to be, on a hot plate or waiter and then spread. The edges 
of the cloth should be turned about an inch over the edge of the 
poultice, and the face of the poultice covered with a piece of thin 
gauze. This is not necessary, but it makes the poultice easier to 
take off. A little Vaseline or Lard on the face of the poultice is 
an improvement. If much pain is present, thirty to sixty drops 
of Laudanum may be dropped on it; or, if both pain and fever 
are present, Lead-water and Laudanum may be added. Oiled 
silk, rubber cloth, or oiled paper, should cover it after it is applied. 

A Mush Poultick is made <>!' Indian meal, and is prepared as 



544 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

if the mush were to be eaten. It is the warmest of all poultices, 
well suited to reach deep inflammations, as pneumonia, pleurisy, 
dysentery, etc. It is spread, applied, and covered like a flaxseed 
poultice. 

Emplastrum Kaolin, sold also as Antiphlogisiine and under 
other names, is a putty-like compound much used for poultices, 
especially for boils, felons and superficial and painful swellings 
and inflammations. It should he applied warm spread on a cloth 
and renewed as required. It is harmless, easy to use and is less 
bulky than most poultices, and during recent years its use has 
been enormous. Bronchitis, pleurisy, rheumatism and other pain- 
ful afflictions are often greatly relieved by its use. When long 
kept it should be protected from the air. 

Bread Poultices. — Scald out the basin, pour in boiling water, 
and throw in some previously prepared, moderately stale bread- 
crumb, and cover with a plate; when the bread has become thor- 
oughly saturated, pour off the remaining water and spread the 
wet, hot bread pulp on folded linen and apply warm. A slice of 
stale bread, stripped of crust, may be made the same as hot-water 
toast and applied warm. Care must be taken not to burn the 
patient, as a bread poultice practically consists of its bulk of hot 
water. 

Slippery Elm Poultice is made by adding boiling hot 
water to powdered or ground elm bark, and applying on a cloth. 
Where the skin is irritated, elm poultices are specially applicable. 

Bread and Milk Poultice. — Made by pouring boiling milk 
upon stale bread crumbs and thoroughly mixing until of the con- 
sistency of mush. 

Onion Poultice. — Partially roast two or three onions and mash 
and spread on muslin. 

Onion poultices are specially useful for croup and catarrhal 
affections in children. Fits may sometimes be prevented by 
applying onion poultices to the arms and legs of children. 

Mustard Poultice or Mush and Mustard Poultice. — Mix one 
part of mustard with four parts of Indial meal mush, spread, and 
apply hot, and cover with oiled silk, rubber, or paper. 

This poultice is warming and an active counter-irritant. It 
may be kept on for hours, and is often to be preferred to the 
mustard plaster, which cannot be borne for any great length of 
time. 

Charcoal Poultice. — Made by adding hot water to bread crumb 
and adding an equal quantity of flaxseed meal ; after stirring in 
sufficient boiling water, add one or two tablespoonfuls powdered 
wood-charcoal. Spread and apply. Useful in grangrenous, foul, 
and fetid ulcers and sores. 



PRESCRIPTIONS. 545 

Boiled carrots, turnips, or roasted apples make excellent poultices 
when mashed, spread on muslin and applied. 

FOMENTATIONS. 

Fomentations are local hot baths. They ma}' consist of flannel 
cloths wrung out in hot water, or of anodyne or bitter herbs 
steeped in hot vinegar or water, and placed in a bag and applied 
to the parts. They should not be so wet as to soil the clothes of 
the patient, but should be as hot as can be borne. 

If frequently renewed they act much more effectually in relieving 
pain and subduing inflammation than a poultice. 

Fomentations should be covered with a dry cloth and removed 
every few minutes. 



PRESCRIPTIONS. 

A prescription is a written formula, receipt, or order from a phy- 
sician to a druggist. To put up or compound a prescription 
requires the use of exact quantities of certain medicines, properly 
mixed and labeled with specific directions for its use. It requires 
much more knowledge and skill to be a thorough prescription 
clerk than many suppose. 

Prescriptions begin with the abbreviation " ~fy " (Recipe ; take, 
or take thou), and, with the exception of the directions, they are 
usually written in Latin. They are written in Latin all over the 
world, and no matter where a prescription finds its way, druggists 
are generally able to compound it. The Latin is thoroughly 
technical, and if all physicians and druggists were familiar with 
it, as far as correctly understanding just what drugs are meant, 
there would be very few errors from this source. 

Much has been written and much controversy evoked in regard 
to the ownership of prescriptions. Occasionally a customer 
demands the original prescription, and is not satisfied with a 
copy. It is but fair that the druggist be allowed the original for 
his own protection. We believe there is no law upon the subject. 

There is often great harm done by continuing medicines 
beyond the time intended by the physician who wrote the pre- 
scription. A physician lias a right to know just when and for 
how long a time his medicines are being taken. Some people 
will get a prescription from a physician and have it filled indefi- 
nitely. I was informed recently that a prescription, written by 
me more than ten years ago, was still being filled occasionally, 
and one case is on record where the same prescription was 

35 



546 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

refilled almost regularly for over thirty years. Most prescrip- 
tions are written to meet immediate needs and present conditions, 
and their indefinite use, unless so ordered by the attending phy- 
sician, cannot be too strongly condemned. 

The opium, chloral, and alcohol habits are often formed in this 
way, and every druggist should carefully guard against such an 
unfortunate occurrence. 



PRICKLY ASH— Xanthoxylum Fraxineum. 

Prickly Ash Bark is stimulant, tonic, and supposed to be altera- 
tive. 

The bark is sometimes chewed for sore mouth, and it is used 
internally for rheumatism. 

Its real virtue, if it has any, is without much proof. 

Dose of the fluid extract, one-half teaspoonful three or four times 
a day. 

It enjoyed the confidence of the eclectic physicians for some 
time, but is at present but little used. 



PULSATILLA. 

Pulsatilla is found in the drug stores in the form of the Tincture 
only. 

It is an old remedy, and has been used in homoeopathic practice 
very extensively. 

Virtues of many kinds have been ascribed to it. Chronic 
inflammatory diseases of the eyes, skin, mucous membranes, rheu- 
matism, painful female irregularities, and stomach disorders, have 
all seemed to yield to its influence. 

It is said to quickly relieve dyspepsia and gastric catarrh, when 
accompanied with a white-coated tongue, or greasy taste in the 
mouth, nausea, heartburn, and flatulence. 

Coughs, especially when due to irritation, nervousness, or habit, 
are benefited by pulsatilla. 

Dose of the Tincture, three to five drops in water every three or 
four hours. In overdoses it is poisonous. 



PUMPKIN SEEDS-Pepo. 

Pumpkin seeds are unquestionably the safest and surest remedy 
we have to remove tapeworm. 
They are prepared as follows. The husks are removed from 



QUASSIA — QUEEN OF THE MEADOW — QUEEN'S ROOT. 54:7 

one or two ounces of the seeds, the kernels are powdered in a 
mortar with a small portion of granulated sugar or sugar of milk, 
and the whole taken in water or milk, the patient having fasted 
for twenty -four hours previously. In a few hours a full dose of 
castor oil should be given. 

If the first trial is not successful, the dose may be repeated the 
second day, followed with the purgative as before. 

No harm follows the use of pumpkin seeds. The writer has so 
often witnessed the power of pumpkin seeds to destroy tapeworm, 
that he is persuaded that no other agent compares with them for 
this purpose. 

QUASSIA. 

Quassia is a mild tonic, not in the least irritating or consti- 
pating. 

When a simple bitter is indicated, it is one of the best, and 
may be given in cold infusion ; one-half ounce to a quart of water. 

Dose of the infusion, one tablespoonful to half teacupful, as 
desired. 

Dose of the tincture, one teaspoonful. 

Simaruba is very similar to Quassia. 

An infusion of Quassia, injected into the bowel with a syringe, 
is one of the best remedies for seat worms. 

Quassia cups, sold by most druggists, are a novel yet effective 
form of administering the bitter principle of the drug. 



QUEEN OF THE MEADOW— Eupatorium Purpureum. 

This plant, also known as Trumpet Weed and Purple Boneset, 
grows in low places ; the root is the part employed. 

The root is bitter, astringent, stimulant, and strongly diuretic. 

It is used in diseases of the urinary organs, female complaints, 
rheumatism, and dropsy. 

Some have claimed that it will dissolve stone in the bladder, but 
there is no reason to believe that it possesses such powers. Such a 
serious matter should always be treated by the family physician. 



QUEEN'S ROOT-Stillingia. 

Queen's root, sometimes called Queen's Delight, is indigenous in 
the Southern States. 

The root is the medicinal portion. 



548 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

It has gained a wide reputation as a blood purifier, and is well 
suited to cases with a scrofulous or syphilitic taint. The opinion 
of the profession, however, is not a unit on the subject. Queen's 
root is an ingredient of many popular alterative compounds, and 
is employed in scrofula, liver disorders, chronic rheumatism, skin 
diseases, and constitutional syphilis. It is harmless and is worthy 
of a trial. It may be taken in the form of a decoction, made by 
boiling one ounce of the root with three pints of water, down to 
one pint. 

Dose, a wineglassful three times a day. 

The fluid extract is a good preparation. 

Dose, ten to twenty drops ; also 

The compound fluid extract — Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. 

The compound syrup is much used in some localities, and may 
be taken in doses of one teaspoon- to one tablespoonful. 



RASPBERRY-Rubus. 

Raspberry, the leaves of which are used in medicine, grows 
wild in the Northern States. 

It is somewhat astringent in its effect, and is used in diarrhoea, 
dysentery, cholera-infantum, and relaxed conditions of the bowels in 
children. 

The infusion, one ounce to one pint of water — dose, one, two, or 
more tablespoonfuls. 

There is a syrup of raspberry on the market, which has no partic- 
ular medicinal quality, yet water sweetened with it makes a 
refreshing drink in fevers. 



REST. 

In giving Rest a place among the agents used to overcome and 
cure disease, the writer feels assured that he is giving the word a 
significance it preeminently deserves. 

Rest, is at once the safest, surest, cheapest and best remedy we 
have to prevent and cure disease. Rest — sweet rest — of mind, 
body, muscle, eye and stomach. There is nothing so potent. 

Much of the pain we suffer, and many of the diseases we endure 
could be completely warded off by timely, unfettered rest. Much 
of the dyspepsia of modern times is simply a cry for rest ; much 
of the nervousness is exhaustion from overwork ; much of the 
decrepit manhood and early decay is due to the friction of cease- 
less toil. There are numberless cases of exhausted vitality and 



REST. 549 

lingering ill-health, which would rapidly recover if rest were 
secured. By neglecting to heed the warnings of bodily fatigue 
and frequent indispositions, and slavishly following the routine 
drudgery and incessant strain of modern business life, people 
invite sickness of every sort. 

Rest, in the minds of many people, is associated with laziness 
and cowardice, and in consequence of such false ideas many 
become confirmed victims of enervation and fatigue, forgetting 
that to alternate Labor with Rest is an inexorable law framed by 
an Infinite Mind. 

When the body, or any part of it is exhausted, it is useless to 
stimulate it. Millions of dollars are annually spent in this country 
for medicines, where simple rest would be more helpful. Physicians 
are daily called upon to prescribe medicines for people with over- 
worked minds and bodies, when Rest, fresh air and relaxation, 
and not medicines, are needed. The overworked and exhausted 
class are liberal patrons of quackery. Advertisements calling 
attention to " that tired feeling " are always opportune, as there 
are those on every hand to whom it fittingly appeals, and who 
hopefully cling to anything promising them relief. 

Many people are born into the world with a very limited 
amount of vitality as an inheritance. They never will be robust 
and strong ; but they will live to a good old age and accomplish 
an abundance of work, if they wisely intersperse their labor with 
rest. Those who prudently take care of the body, often live and 
enjoy life on a very small amount of physical vitality. 

Many cases of dyspepsia will disappear, if a nap is taken every 
day after dinner; much of the nervousness, now so common, 
would vanish, if early retiring to bed were adopted ; and much of 
premature decrepitude be avoided, if people would cease their 
intense and prolonged application to mental and physical labor. 

" Few people know how to rest. A perfect relaxation of the 
tense muscles and the busy brain is necessary, as well as cessation 
or change of occupation. Most people carry the anxiety of the 
day's labor into the hours which should be wholly given to 
recreation, recuperation and Rest. It is not impossible to dismiss 
anxious and worrying thoughts. If indulged, of what value are 
they ? Will the apprehensive fears of the physician for the life of 
his patient accomplish ought for that patient's recovery ? No : and 
the physician dismissing such fears, and bringing his mind into 
a restful and harmonious order, will find himself stronger of nerve, 
and more able to cope with disease and suffering when he next 
encounters it. 

" If the nervous, worrying people of America, whose lives are 



550 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

being wasted by their mistaken haste, and their waste of nervous 
force, could realize the true value of Rest, a new era would dawn 
upon us, and the coming century would show a race of people 
healthier, happier and holier." 



RHUBARB-Rheum. 

Rhubarb Root plays an important part in the domain of medi- 
cine. It is imported from China, Tartary, Siberia and India. 

" Russian" and "Turkey 7 ' Rhubarb, although called for occa- 
sionally, are no longer to be found in the American market. 

There is a great difference in the quality of Rhubarb Root 
found in the stores. Some specimens are of excellent quality, 
others are practically worthless; some are yellow, others are 
brown and dark ; some pieces are light in weight, soft, and spongy, 
others heavy, compact, and brittle. The only safeguard in pur- 
chasing it is to deal with a druggist who keeps the best, and is 
reliable enough to recommend a good article only. The virtue 
of the liquid preparations varies more, no doubt, than that of the 
whole root. It is sold in square sticks and in small cubes, and 
my experience has been that only select varieties are found pre- 
pared in these shapes. 

Rhubarb occupies an important and peculiar place among 
medicines. It is tonic, laxative, cathartic, and also astringent. 
These properties eminently fit it for the treatment of many 
derangements not remedied by other drugs. It is peculiarly 
adapted to the treatment of the bowel affections of the debilitated 
and aged, and of childhood and infancy. As a cathartic and 
laxative, Rhubarb is well adapted to persons of debilitated health 
and those advanced in years. It does not weaken the system like 
many cathartics. In the constipation accompanying piles, it is 
extremely useful ; but its astringency should be overcome by 
tablespoonful doses of olive oil taken nightly. 

As a remedy for the diarrhoea and bowel complaints of early 
childhood, it is highly prized. For these affections it is con- 
stantly prescribed by the profession, and is as highly appre- 
ciated by the laity. In all cases of diarrhoea, where the patient is 
debilitated and the bowels are weak, it is the best cathartic we 
have. 

It is sold in many different forms; Rhubarb Root is often 
carried in the pocket and chewed and swallowed ad libitum, for 
constipation ; and for elderly and feeble persons so troubled it is 






SACCHARIN. 551 

to be numbered among the most useful laxatives. A little 
experience will determine the amount necessary to take. 

Powdered Rhubarb is not much used alone, but in the form of 
Rhubarb and Magnesia ; it forms an excellent laxative and correc- 
tive. The following is the formula for 

A— 551.— RHUBARB AND MAGNESIA. 

Rhubarb, 2h drachms 

Magnesia, 6| drachms 

Powdered Ginger, 1 drachm. 

Mix thoroughly. Dose, one teaspoonful. 

Compound Rhubarb Pills, containing Rhubarb, Aloes, Myrrh 
and Oil of Peppermint, are for sale in all drug stores, and are a 
safe and desirable laxative. They are, however, rather too large 
to be swallowed easily. Dose, one to three. 

Tincture of Rhubarb in small doses is tonic, and well adapted to 
the enfeebled digestion, weak vitality, and torpidity of the liver 
and other secretions, especially of persons in middle and advanced 
life. 

Plain Syrup of Rhubarb is a very safe and appropriate 
laxative for small children and infants. Dose, one-half to one tea- 
spoonful for an infant, or the same as the following. 

Spiced or Aromatic Syrup op Rhubarb is a most valuable 
preparation, and is largely prescribed by the profession and 
used by the laity. It is composed of rhubarb, cloves, cinnamon, 
and nutmeg, and not only promotes the action of the bowels, but 
gently stimulates and corrects them. If given early it is curative 
of Diarrhoea, and tends to relieve the " colicky " pains which 
usually accompany this affection. 

Dose. — As a purgative for a child six months to one year old, 
half a teaspoonful ; two to three years, one teaspoonful; six to eight 
years, two teaspoonfuls ; adults, one or two tablespoonfuls repeated 
every three or four hours until it operates. 

Equal parts of Spiced Syrup of Rhubarb and Castor-oil mixed, 
form an excellent laxative, soothing and healing to the bowels, 
and is well adapted to infantile diarrhoeas and dysenteries. The 
syrup largely disguises the taste of the oil. 



SACCHARIN. 

This article is made from coal tar, is very complex in its com- 
position, is a light-colored or white granular powder, and some- 
what soluble in water. 

Saccharin is said to be about " 280 times as sweet as sugar," and 



552 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

is used to sweeten confectionery and tea and coffee where sugar is 
objectionable, as in diabetes and gout. It has been predicted that 
saccharin will eventually revolutionize the art of sweetening, but 
there are no indications that such will take place. One or two 
grains will sweeten a cup of tea or coffee. 

The best way to use it is in the form of tablets to be found in 
drug stores. Saccharin possesses no medicinal virtues. 



SAFFRON-Crocus. 

True saffron is seldom seen in the retail drug market. What is 
sold at the drug stores as saffron is Carthamus Tinctorius, called 
American Saffron, Genuine Saffron is worth from one to two 
dollars per ounce. This will not seem exorbitant when we learn 
that it takes about 4000 flowers to weigh an ounce. Druggists 
sell American Saffron and label it " saffron," and tea is made of it 
and given to infants. I do not know what diseases it is intended 
to cure. It is usually given to babies before they are old enough 
to be sick. It is a custom which might easily be discarded. 



SAGE— Salvia. 

Common Sage is used as a condiment, and the infusion (half 
ounce to a pint of boiling water, sweetened with honey) is an ex- 
cellent gargle for sore throat with elongated palate. 

Weak sage tea, containing a little borax and sweetened with 
honey, is a good wash for sore mouth of children. 

Sage tea is used for fevers and for the night sweats of consumption. 



SALICYLIC ACID. 

This drug is found in the stores in soft, flaky, slightly reddish- 
white powder. It is made from various substances, chiefly from 
willow, and is used for a number of diseases. 

Salicylic Acid possesses decided antiseptic properties, and is 
used as an anti-ferment. It will keep grape juice or cider from 
fermenting, and is an ingredient of the various " anti-ferment " 
compounds sold to keep fruits from fermenting in jars. 

About twelve grains of the acid to the gallon will prevent cider 
from further fermentation. There have been strong objections 
raised against its use for this purpose. 

Its antiseptic qualities at one time brought it into considerable 



SALICIN — SANTONIN. 553 

use as a dressing in surgery, etc., but it is not much used now. 
Salicylic acid is used principally for rheumatism, and in a great 
many cases of this disease seems to impart specific virtues. It is 
impossible to tell what cases it will benefit until it is tried. 

As Salicylic Acid is almost insoluble in water, it is best admin- 
istered in the form of Salicylate of Soda, or Oil of Gaultheria. 
These preparations contain the acid, and can be compounded to 
good advantage. 

Dose of Salicylic Acid is from five to fifteen grains three or 
four times a day, suspended in syrup or elixir. 

Oil of Gaultheria may be given in emulsion in doses of ten 
or fifteen drops, three times a day. 

Salicylate of Soda, on account of its solubility in water, is 
much prescribed in place of salicylic acid, and may be given in 
doses of from three to twenty grains in solution three or four 
times a day. It is given for exactly the same affections as salicylic 
acid. 

SALICIN. 

Salicin is so closely allied to Salicylic Acid that we give it a 
place here. It is made from the willow, and resembles salicylic 
acid very much in its action. 

Dose, five to ten grains three times a day, dry on the tongue or 
in capsules. 

Salol is another product similar to Salicylic Acid, and is a 
white and tasteless powder. 

On account of its being insoluble in water, it is generally dis- 
pensed in pill form. 

Dose, five to ten grains three times a day. 



SANTONIN. 

Santonin is made from Levant wormseed, and occurs in small 
white crystals, turning yellowish with age or exposure. 

It is used more than any other drug for the destruction of worms 
in the alimentary canal. 

It may be well to mention two phenomena attending its use. 
The patient will "see yellow," i.e., tilings will appear yellow; the 
urine will be yellow also, sometimes assuming almost a purplish 
hue. 

It is an excellent vermifuge, and is the medicine in most all 
patent worm confections, each lozenge usually containing about 



554 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

one-half grain. Proprietary worm lozenges give general satisfac- 
tion. They can be purchased in bulk at drug stores. Their use 
should be followed by cathartic medicines, and in no instance 
should they be given to a child in larger doses than directed on 
the packages containing them. 

Quite a number of deaths have occurred from overdoses of San- 
tonin, and for very young infants it should not be used, except 
as prescribed by a physician. 

The dose for an adult is two to four grains ; for a child two 
years old, one-fourth to one-half grain. 

Two or three grains may be incorporated in suppositories and 
inserted into the bowel for seat worms. 

It sometimes will relieve incontinence of urine — wetting the 
bed — when all other remedies fail. As this affliction is often the 
result of worms, Santonin should always be considered as a very 
appropriate remedy. 



CRAB ORCHARD SALTS. 

A mild saline purgative obtained by evaporating the waters of 
the Crab Orchard Springs, in Lincoln county, Kentucky. 

The crude salt occurs in small, mottled, irregular particles, not 
entirely soluble in water. The purified is white in color, soluble 
in water, and more active as a cathartic than the crude, but the 
crude is said to possess tonic properties, which are not present in 
the purified form. The dose is one or two teaspoonfuls. 



EPSOM SALTS— Sulphate of Magnesia. 

These salts were originally obtained by evaporating the waters 
of the saline springs at Epsom, England. The improvements in 
chemistry have rendered the manufacture of Epsom Salts on a 
large scale, exceedingly easy. 

As sold in the stores, it occurs in small, colorless or whitish, 
prismatic or needle-shaped crystals. On exposure to the atmos- 
phere it gradually turns white, a change due to a loss of the 
water of crystallization. 

The taste of salts is saline, cooling, bitter, and to most people 
very disagreeable. 

Epsom Salts is an efficient cathartic. It is much more suited 
to robust, plethoric people than to delicate, weak persons. 

At the beginning of fevers and inflammatory conditions, it is 



GLAUBER SALTS — ROCHELLE SALTS. 555 

often the best laxative that can be given. It is, perhaps, the most 
active, and, at the same time, the least irritating saline cathartic 
we have. 

In obstinate constipation it is among the safest and surest 
remedies. 

Lead colic is not only relieved but prevented by the use of these 
salts. 

Salts and senna form a well-known domestic cathartic. The 
salts add greatly to the activity of senna and render it less liable 
to gripe. I have usually mixed one-fourth ounce salts, one-half 
ounce senna, and a few coriander seeds ; to be made and drank the 
same as senna tea. 

The old-fashioned Ferro-saline mixture (Epsom salts, one ounce ; 
cream of tartar, one drachm ; dried sulphate of iron, ten grains ; 
water, one quart), was formerly much prescribed as a remedy for 
constipation, when due to a torpid condition of the lower bowel ; 
especially in those who lead sedentary lives. The dose of this 
mixture is from one to four tablespoonfuls, shortly after rising, 
every morning. 

There is no better remedy in the first stages of dysentery than 
Epsom Salts. 

Dose, from a teaspoonful to a heaping tablespoonful, or more, 
dissolved in water. A very small quantity in a glass of water, 
preferably Avarm, before breakfast, will generally act as a laxative. 
Its disagreeable taste is largely covered if taken in coffee. Three 
or four drops of essence of peppermint will also disguise its taste. 



GLAUBER SALTS— Sulphate of Sodium. 

This salt is but little used in medicine. It is sold in irregularly- 
shaped crystals, which turn white and pulverize on exposure to 
the air. It is the most abundant and active ingredient in many 
of the laxative, saline mineral waters. 

Carlsbad, Vichy, Hunyadi, and many others, owe their cathartic 
action principally to sulphate of soda. 

It is much used in veterinary practice, perhaps because it is 
cheap in price, and is often called " horse salts." 



ROCHELLE SALTS— Tartrate of Potassium and Sodium. 

Rochelle Salts, as found in the stores, is a white, soft powder, 
very soluble in water, with a somewhat unpleasant, saline taste. 
It is much less thorough, as a cathartic, than Epsom Salts, but 



556 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

as it is so much more pleasant to the taste and mild in its action, 
it is generally to be preferred as a cathartic, where the stomach is 
irritable, and for a purgative at the beginning of the various 
fevers. 

Many persons take Rochelle Salts, habitually, as a laxative, 
which is not a good practice. Its continual use renders the urine 
alkaline, and favors the formation of stone in the bladder in those 
predisposed to phosphatic deposits. Dose, from a teaspoonful to 
a heaping tablespoonful, dissolved in water. 

Seidlitz Powders — (Pulvis Effervescens Compositus), contain 
two drachms of Rochelle Salts, in the blue paper, with forty 
grains of bicarbonate of soda; the white paper contains thirty-five 
grains tartaric acid. They are taken by dissolving each powder 
separately in one-fourth tumbler of water, pouring together 
gradually and drinking during effervescence. A few drops of 
lemon and a little sugar will render them quite palatable, and 
when intended for children should not be omitted. One Seidlitz 
Powder, if taken before breakfast, or at any time on an empty 
stomach, with plenty of water, will generally operate. Two are 
often required, and may be taken, both at once; or, they may be 
repeated, every three or four hours, until the desired effect is 
obtained. 

Seidlitz Powders are very useful to relieve the indigestion which 
follows over-eating at unseasonable hours. 

At the beginning of fevers, bronchitis, etc., they are extremely 
useful, when less palatable medicines cannot be taken. 

Seidlitz Powders should be kept in a dry place, and when 
purchased in quantities they should be kept in a tin box. 



SALTPETRE-Nitrate of Potash. 

This drug, also called nitre or sal nitre, is generally sold in 
the stores in small lumps or crystals, but the granulated or 
powdered is much to be preferred. The lump is no better in 
quality, although sometimes supposed to be. 

When taken internally, saltpetre is refrigerant, diuretic, dia- 
phoretic, sedative, and in large doses, cathartic. 

It is but little used in medicine, except in veterinary practice, 
where it is one of the chief medicines to reduce fever, and is 
valued for its diuretic qualities. 

It is generally an ingredient of the various asthma fumigators, 
in which it fills two offices : imparting medicinal virtues to the 
compound, and assisting in keeping up the fumigating process. 



SARSAPARILLA. 557 

Blotting paper, or paper made for the purpose, may be soaked in 
a saturated solution of saltpetre, dried, and then burned, the smoke 
of which, when inhaled, affords marked relief in attacks of asthma. 
Any druggist can prepare this paper. 

Saltpetre is often prescribed in fevers, and is one of the many 
remedies for inflammatory rheumatism, but it requires large doses, 
and its use is not in keeping with the best modern practice. 
Other remedies, less objectionable, answer the purpose better. 

It might often be added to cough mixtures, in acute diseases 
with fever, such as bronchitis. Dose, ten to thirty grains. 

It is said to be the principal ingredient in Warner's Kidney 
and Liver Cure, and from personal experience in preparing a 
similar preparation, the author feels assured that such is the case. 
Why it should be so praised is one of the mysteries of the patent 
medicine trade. 

A small quantity of saltpetre added to meat when it is being 
salted, assists the preservative qualities of the salt, and adds 
greatly to the appearance of the meat by deepening the redness 
of the lean portion, and in no way injures it. 

Sal prunelle is little less than saltpetre. It can be bought 
at any drug store, coming in white balls about the size of large 
cherries. Allowing these balls to dissolve in the mouth is an 
efficient way of treating acute inflammatory throat a[ 



SARSAPARILLA. 

There are several varieties of this root, but the principal one 
used in legitimate pharmacy is the Honduras variety. It comes 
in bundles, the roots being about as thick as a goose quill and 
several feet in length. 

For three centuries Sarsaparilla has been recognized as a " blood 
purifier," and its reputation as such has not been equaled by any 
other medicine. 

Physicians and laymen have been captivated by its virtues, 
whether assumed or real, and the patent medicine man has made 
millions of money because this popular opinion has never been 
exploded. 

The name "Sarsaparilla" attracts attention, as seen on the 
fences, house roofs, in almanacs, drug-store windows, or on the 
face of a bottle, and it sounds well to the ear. (Sarsaparilla — 
Zarza, "a briar," and parilla, "a Little vine;" or perhaps named 
for Doctor Parillo, who first used it.) 

The author has taken considerable interest in this drug, and 



558 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

has endeavored to arrive at some definite conclusion in regard to 
its virtue as an alterative medicine. 

The opinion of the medical profession is non-committal. Physi- 
cians prescribe it, because it is customary to do so ; people take 
it, because it is pleasant, and the patent medicine men use it, 
because it is harmless, and there seems to be a popular demand 
for it. 

It is always given with other medicines, and I believe I not 
only express my own, but the general opinion of the profession, 
when I say that its virtue largely depends upon the other medi- 
cines which are prescribed with it. 

When it is given in decoction, the hot water given with it does 
the good, and not the Sarsaparilla. When it is given with Iodide 
of Potash, or Bichloride of Mercury, it is these medicines, and not 
the Sarsaparilla, which cures the patient. 

The various patent " Sarsaparillas " are laden with other medi- 
cines, and Sarsaparilla is used chiefly as a vehicle to carry the 
concoctions into popular favor. 

It is never given alone, but its various preparations form 
excellent vehicles for other and more active medicines. 

The most commendable preparations are : — 

The Compound Fluid Extract, dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. 

Compound Syrup (containing sarsaparilla, guaiac, licorice, senna, 
sassafras, anise, wintergreen, etc.), dose, from one teaspoon- to one 
tablespoonful at meal time. 



SASSAFRAS. 

The bark of sassafras root is recognized as a mild blood purifier 
and is perfectly harmless. In rural districts it is sometimes used 
as a table drink instead of tea and coffee. Properly made and 
sweetened to the taste, sassafras tea is quite palatable. 

A strong decoction of sassafras root bark is an effectual applica- 
tion to the eruption caused by poison oak or poison ivy. 

Sassafras Pith makes an excellent mucilaginous drink for 
inflamed stomach. Its solution is often used as a wash in inflam- 
mation of the eyes. 

Oil of Sassafras is much used as a flavor in the manufacture 
of confectionery and summer drinks. 



SCULLCAP — SENEKA SNAKE ROOT — SENNA. 559 



SCULLCAP— Scutellaria. 

Scullcap is seldom used in medicine. It has a reputation 
as being a nervine and tonic. It has been used in convulsions, 
neuralgia, and nervous prostration. It, however, is very feeble in 
its action, if it possesses any value whatever. 

The Fluid Extract is the best preparation. Dose, one teaspoonful. 



SENEKA SNAKE ROOT-Senega. 

Seneka Snake Root, Rattlesnake Root, Mountain Flax, or Milkwort, 
grows wild in all parts of the United States. 

It is supposed to be somewhat expectorant and to be of service 
in pulmonary affections, but it is of rather doubtful value. It is 
one of the ingredients of Compound Syrup of Squills, and is 
occasionally used both by the profession and by the laity. 

Syrup of Senega — Dose, one or two teaspoonfuls, represent the 
properties of the root, and will be found a stimulating expec- 
torant, relieving what is called " tightness " of the chest, and will 
be found useful in chronic bronchitis. It is seldom administered 
alone. 

SENNA. 

There are two principal varieties of Senna Leaves sold in the 
stores, the Alexandria and the Tinnevelly, either of which is 
used by the druggist in preparing medicines, but the latter 
is the more desirable. 

Senna is classed among the safest and surest of cathartics. It 
is well adapted to febrile and inflammatory cases, and it acts on 
the whole alimentary canal. 

It is generally given in the form of " Senna tea," to which 
should be added some aromatic, as coriander seeds, to prevent 
griping. Epsom or Rochelle salts added to it will greatly 
modify its tendency to cause pain, and the addition of manna 
improves its taste. 

It is said that the smell of it will purge some people, and when 
given to nursing women it will render the milk laxative. 

It is claimed for it that continued use does not leave the bowels 
inclined to constipation, as many other cathartics do. 

Senna Tea or Infusion Senna — Senna, one ounce; coriander 
seeds, one drachm ; boiling water, one pint. Dose, one-third, of 
the pint, to be repeated if necessary. This is one of the best 
cathartics possible. 



560 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Fluid Extract Senna — Dose, one to four teaspoonfuls. 

Fluid Extract Spigelia and Senna is used as a vermifuge, and a 
most excellent one it is. Dose, twenty drops to one-half tea- 
spoonful for a child two years old, or two teaspoonfuls for an adult. 
Senna is the active ingredient of Compound Licorice Powder. 



SERPENTARIA-Virginia Snake Root. 

The root of Serpentaria, commonly known as Virginia Snake 
Root, grows in many parts of our country, and is much used in 
medicine, both domestic and professional. 

While all kinds of therapeutic virtues have been ascribed to it, 
yet it is only a stimulating tonic. It is much used as an addition 
to mixtures for catarrhal and pulmonary troubles of a chronic type. 

It is said to be of benefit in dyspepsia and malaria, and is one 
of the ingredients in Huxham's Tincture, but it is not much used 
alone. 

A gargle made of the infusion of Serpentaria has been much used 
for diphtheria. 

The Fluid Extract of Serpentaria is almost a specific for the erup- 
tions caused by contact with "poison ivy." Two or three applica- 
tions seem to kill the poison completely. 

Fluid Extract Snake Root — Dose, fifteen to thirty drops. 

Tincture of Snake Root — Dose, one-half to two teaspoonfuls. 

Infusion of Snake Root (one-half ounce to pint of water) — Dose, 
one-half to one wineglassful. 



NITRATE OF SILVER-Argenti Nitras. 

This article when run into moulds is called Lunar Caustic. 
It is seldom given internally. At .one time it was much 
employed in doses of ^ to ^ grain in the treatment of ulcer of the 
stomach, chronic gastritis, diarrhoea and dysentery, St. Vitus'.-: 
dance, locomotor ataxia, and epileptic fits. Its continued use, 
internally, is apt to indelibly discolor the skin, and give it a 
peculiar bluish-sl^te hue. 

Locally it acts as a caustic, and is much used as an application 
especially to mucous membranes. It is used both in solution and 
in solid form. 

The use of caustic has been very much abused by the people. 
It is not wise nor even safe to " burn out the throat " of every 
person who is troubled with some derangement of that organ. 



SOAP BARK — BICARBONATE OF SODA. 561 

It is an exceedingly valuable remedy, however, and used in the 
right way at the right time is a powerful curative agent. It 
occupies a place in medicine peculiarly its own. In ordinary 
sore throat, it often proves extremely useful ; in fact, no remedy is 
so potent to dispel morbid conditions of mucous membranes as 
nitrate of silver. Its caustic effects are very superficial and do not 
extend beyond the point of contact. 

Felons, boils, and even bed-sores are sometimes cut short by the 
timely application of lunar caustic. 

Stick Caustic occurs in small sticks encased in paper, or it can 
be procured from any druggist in wooden cases. In this form it 
is specially adapted to carrying in the pocket, and will be found 
useful as an application to poisonous wounds, morbid groivths, 
obstinate ulcers, warts, etc. 

Nitrate of silver enters into the composition of many hair dyes ; 
all such should be used sparingly, and contact with the scalp and 
fingers avoided in the application of the dye. 

Caustic stains resulting from contact with nitrate of silver may 
be removed by first wetting them with water, then dropping on a 
little of the tincture of iodine, and finally washing out with a 
solution (thirty grains to the ounce of water) of hyposulphite of 
soda. 



SOAP BARK-Quillaia. 

Soap Bark, although not a medicine, has become an agent of 
much importance. 

It is sold in the stores in a coarse powder as " ground " soap 
bark. 

It is used chiefly in the drug store to produce a foam on soda 
water. 

Powdered soap bark is exceedingly irritating to the nostrils, and 
its use has been recommended as a sternutatory, but I question 
the wisdom of irritating the membrane of the nose by breath- 
ing it. 

Its principal use has been as a detergent to cleanse silks and 
woolen goods. 

BICARBONATE OF SODA. 

This article, known in the household as Baking Soda,is a white 
powder with a saline taste and is soluble in water. 

It is much used in cooking and as a medicine to relieve acidity 
of the stomach, and for this purpose is perhaps less irritating than 

3G 



562 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

any other alkali, yet it should not be used habitually. When 
used for this purpose a small quantity only should be taken, and 
the dose repeated, if necessary. If used habitually, it will surely 
derange the ' digestion and aggravate, rather than cure, acidity. 
Acidity of the stomach and heartburn should be treated rationally, 
and not chemically. 

Soda Powders, an effervescent drink, sometimes used for acidity 
and indigestion, is made by dissolving thirty grains of soda in one 
tumbler, and twenty grains of tartaric acid in another, and pour- 
ing together. . 

Bicarbonate of soda is sometimes taken to correct uric acid for- 
mations in the bladder. Applied to the parts, it will relieve the pain 
of a burn or scald, and it should always be used as a wash to burnt 
surfaces. 

Painful rheumatic affections of the joints are often greatly 
relieved by applying strong soda water on cloths to the parts. 



SODA MINT. 

SODA MINT TABLETS. 

Soda mint is found in the stores in two forms — liquid and 
tablets — and is used as an antacid and carminative. 

The liquid contains bicarbonate of soda, aromatic spirits of 
ammonia, and spearmint water, and the tablets are composed of 
practically the same articles. 

The liquid preparation is sometimes given to babies for sour 
stomach and wind colic ; it is scarcely suited, however, to such pur- 
poses, and its continuous use is to be strongly condemned. The 
tone of the stomach of both child or adult can be destroyed by 
the use of such articles, and the habit some people acquire of 
consuming the tablets is to be discouraged. 

Dose of the liquid for a child one-half to one teaspoonful. A 
peppermint lozenge, as sold by the confectioners, dissolved in 
warm water is a desirable baby carminative. 



PHOSPHATE OF SODA. 

Phosphate of Soda occurs in crystals, powder, and in granular 
form. 

It is of peculiar value in an important field of diseased condi- 
tions. It embodies the virtues of phosphorus in an assimilative 
and natural form. It is laxative, and increases the activity of all 
the emunctory organs of the body. 



SPANISH FLIES. 563 

Pale and poorly nourished children are greatly benefited by this 
article. There are many children, notwithstanding the fact that 
good food is given them, who fail to receive nourishment there- 
from. They are pale and languid ; their stools are scanty, pasty, 
and light in color; their teeth decay early; they are prone to 
rickets and other chronic maladies. 

To such, Phosphate of Soda is of great service. Ten grains 
given in milk several times a day will often produce a marked 
and permanent improvement. 

As it has a special influence on the liver, it is of great ser- 
vice in "torpid liver" jaundice, biliousness, bilious sick headache, 
and constipation. 

Those who are subject to boils will find it a good preventive, 
and the debility following prolonged sickness or child-nursing is 
often relieved by it. 

Phosphites and Hypophosphites are largely employed as medicinal 
agents, and are used where a laxative effect is not desired. Vichy 
water contains a small amount of Phosphate of Soda, to which 
it no doubt owes its value in hepatic troubles. The dose of Phos- 
phate of Soda is from one drachm to one ounce dissolved in broth, 
soup, or hot water. It can be given to children in broth, soup, or 
milk. 



SPANISH FLIES. 

Spanish Flies, also called Cantharides, are of the beetle tribe and 
abound in Spain, Italy, and the South of France, but the best flies 
come from Russia. 

They are found in the stores in five forms — whole, powdered, 
in tincture form, made into blistering ointment, and in plasters. 

Tincture of Cantharides is often prescribed internally as a stimu- 
lant to the kidneys, the generative organs, and for its local effect 
upon the mucous membranes of those parts. Tincture of Can- 
tharides is frequently an ingredient of hair tonics. 

In overdoses it acts as a poison, producing irritation and in- 
flammation of the alimentary tract, with a special determination 
to the organs of the lower part of the abdomen. Its use is best 
left to the profession. 

Blistering Ointment, or Cantharides Cerate, is used almost univer- 
sally when blistering is necessary. Formerly, when a blister was 
ordered, the druggist spread the ointment on a piece of adhesive 
plaster of the proper size and shape, leaving enough free margin 
of the adhesive cloth to hold the blister on when applied. 

Cantharides Plaster, already spread, is a most convenient and 



564 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

desirable mode of dispensing and using blisters. It can be cut in 
any shape, is less apt to adhere to the skin when removed, and in 
every way is to be preferred to the ointment. The camphorated 
plaster should always be selected, as it is not apt to produce 
strangury or other ill-effects upon the system. 

Cardharidal Collodion, a liquid preparation, is sometimes more 
convenient than the plaster, especially upon uneven surfaces. 

See article on Busters. 



SPEARMINT-Mentha Viridis. 

Spearmint is a native of Europe, but is extensively cultivated 
in the United States for domestic use and for the oil it contains. 

It can be used for the same purposes and in the same way as 
peppermint, as their qualities are identical. Spearmint is some- 
what more rank to the taste than peppermint, but many consider 
it more agreeable. When intended for medicinal use, it should 
be cut in very dry weather and just as the flowers appear ; if for 
obtaining the oil, after they have expanded. 



SPIKENARD— Aralia Racemosa. 

The root of this herb is sometimes used in medicine. It is 
somewhat spicy, aromatic, and alterative. It is usually an ingre- 
dient of domestic " blood purifiers " and remedies for pulmonary 
affections, asthma, etc., but it is of doubtful value. 



SPIRITS OF MINDERERUS-Solution of Acetate of 
Ammonium. 

This preparation has been much used as a diuretic and diapho- 
retic in fevers. When freshly made, as it always should be when 
purchased, it is a colorless liquid with a saline taste. 

Dose, one or two tablespoonfuls in sweetened water, every three 
or four hours. 

If the patient is kept warm in bed, it acts on the skin, but if he 
be kept cool and walking about, it acts on the kidneys. It is 
especially useful in typhoid and other low forms of fever. 

Sweet Spirits of Nitre is, as a rule, to be preferred to Spirits of 
Mindererus, unless the latter be freshly prepared. 



SQUILL — SUGAR OF MILK. 565 



SQUILL-Scilla. 

Squill is the bulb of a plant which grows on the borders of the 
Mediterranean Sea. It is expectorant, diuretic, and in large doses 
emetic and purgative. 

It is seldom used in substance ; occasionally the powder is com- 
bined in pills with other allied drugs and given as a diuretic in 
dropsy. 

It is used almost exclusively in the form of Syrup of Squill. 
Dose, a teaspoonful. 

The graded dose for children is as follows: For a child six 
months old, five drops ; one year old, ten drops ; two years old, 
fifteen drops; four years old, twenty drops; ten years old, thirty 
drops. 

Compound Syrup of Squill, often called Coxe's Hive Syrup, con- 
tains squill, senega, and tartar emetic, ( and has been largely 
used for the coughs, colds, and croups of childhood. The dose for 
children in croup is ten drops to a teaspoonful every fifteen 
minutes until vomiting is produced. As an expectorant, the dose 
is the same as that of syrup of squills, the adult dose being one- 
half to one teaspoonful every two to four hours. 

It must be remembered that Coxe's Hive Syrup is capable of pro- 
ducing great p>rostration, and its use should be kept within proper 
limits. 

As a rule, Syrup of Ipecac is to be preferred to preparations of 
Squills. 

SUGAR OF MILK— Saccharum Lactis. 

Sugar of Milk is derived from milk, of which it is a natural 
constituent. It comes in a white j^owder, soluble in seven parts 
of water but insoluble in alcohol. It is only mildly sweetish to 
the t»ste, and gives a sensation of grittiness to the touch and to 
1)i" taste when taken in the dry form. On account of the hard- 
ness of its | cuticles it is used by the pharmacist as a triturating 
powder more than anything else. Homeopathic pellets and tritu- 
ration*, and most of the tablet triturates of the drug stores, are 
composed of Sugar of Milk medicated in various ways. It is 
used universally by druggists to increase the bulk of small pow- 
ders. 

There are differenl qualities of sugar of milk. For food pur- 
poses thai in pound packages of standard makes should always be 
selected. Its uxo, as a food for infants has greatly increased in 
recent years and it gives general satisfaction. 



566 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Sugar of Milk is a food, and it has been proposed for many 
conditions of mal-nutrition. 

A solution of Sugar of Milk may be made by dissolving one 
ounce in one-half pint of water. If kept long it is likely to sour. 
As a food, condensed milk is much more applicable. 

There is 0- number of "Foods" on the market which are 
largely composed of Sugar of Milk, the chief ones being Reed 
& Carnrick's Soluble Food, Lactated Food, Nestle's Food, Anglo- 
Swiss, and several others. These are to be selected for very young 
children rather than the Farinaceous Foods. These foods answer 
an excellent purpose, and I have found them to give universal 
satisfaction when their use has been judiciously combined with 
other forms of diet. 



SULPHUR. 

Sulphur is sold in the stores as follows : — 

1. In rolls, under the name of Brimstone. 

2. Powdered Sulphur, called Flowers of Sulphur, or Sublimed 
Sulphur. 

3. Precipitated Sulphur, called Lac, or Milk of Sulphur, and 
Washed Sulphur 

Roll Brimstone is used to disinfect rooms which have been 
occupied by patients having contagious diseases. At least two 
pounds of it should be used for a large room. A tub, partly 
filled with water, should be placed in the middle of the room. 
Upon a brick in the centre of this tub should be placed a dish 
or old iron pan containing the sulphur. The windows should be 
tightly closed and the sulphur ignited and the doors kept shut for 
at least two hours. 

Washed sulphur is the best "preparation for medicinal pur- 
poses. 

The dose is from a teaspoon- to a tablespoonful in molasses. 

It is an excellent laxative in piles ; indeed, nothing produces a 
more natural and easy movement of the bowels. 

Persons frequently troubled with colic will find it a desirable 
laxative. 

It is used internally and externally for various skin diseases, 
and " sulphur ointment will cure the itch." 

Blown into the throat through a paper tube rolled up like a 
lamp lighter, or through a goose quill, it is an excellent remedy 
for sore throat of a diphtheritic nature, and may be so used three or 
four times a day. 



SUPPOSITORIES — SWEET SPIRITS OP NITRE. 567 

Various mineral waters contain sulphur, and they enjoy a 
reputation, no doubt deservedly, as curative of chronic diseases. 

Sulphur opens the pores of the skin, consequently those taking 
it should be careful about exposure to cold. 



SUPPOSITORIES. 

Suppositories are conical-shaped, solid bodies, generally made of 
cocoa-butter, in which medicine has been incorporated, and 
intended for introduction into the bowel per rectum. Urethral 
and vaginal suppositories are also made. 

Instead of cocoa-butter, hollow gelatine capsules are sometimes 
used to convey the medicine, and they answer the purpose 
admirably. 

They are medicated with tannic acid or other astringents for 
hemorrhages, and with anodynes for various painful affections. 

When the stomach is very irritable, medicines are given in this 
way for their systemic effect. 

Glycerine Suppositories are an excellent remedy for constipa- 
tion of the lower bowel. 

They are sold in two sizes by druggists ; the larger intended for 
adults, and the smaller for children. One inserted into the 
rectum will cause an evacuation in a few minutes as a rule. A 
piece of castile soap, cut the size of a lead pencil, about one and one • 
half inches long, oiled and inserted into the bowel of an infant 
will cause an evacuation in a few minutes. A piece of molasses candy 
of the proper shape is well suited to the same use. 



SWEET SPIRITS OF NITRE-Spirit of Nitrous Ether. 

This preparation, sometimes called "Nitre," is a clear, alcoholic 
liquid. It has a fragrant odor, and a sharp, non-pungent taste. 

It is refrigerant, diaphoretic, and somewhat calming. 

It is deservedly a very popular household remedy, and is 
especially adapted to the treatment of diseases of children. 

No medicine is more used in fevers ; indeed, as a safe general 
refrigerant, adapted to both old and young, there is nothing so 
applicable as Sweet Spirits of Nitre. 

It reduces the temperature, increases the action of the skin and 
kidneys, is quieting to the stomach, and often promotes sleep. 
The dose for an adult is from ten drops to a teaspoonful, for a 
thild from three to twenty drops in water. Small doses repeated 



568 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

every half hour will reduce a fever much more quickly, as a rule, 
than larger doses given less frequently. 

When fever is due to inflammatory action, aconite is to be pre- 
ferred to Sweet Spirits of Nitre. 

When given to act directly on the kidneys, it should be given 
in large doses. 



COMPOUND SYRUP OF WHITE PINE. 

Compound Syrup of White Pine contains : White Pine Bark, 
Wild Cherry Bark, Spiknard Root, Balm of Gilead Buds, San- 
guinaria Root, Sassafras Bark, Morphia Sulphate, Chloroform, 
Sugar, Alcohol, Water and Syrup. 

Dose. — One or two teaspoonfuls every three or four hours as 
needed. This preparation has been used in domestic practice 
for a long time, and was placed on the market some years ago, and 
its use has surpassed that of any mixture ever offered to the public 
by the drug trade. Every pharmaceutical firm makes it, and the 
syrup as found in the stores varies in appearance somewhat. It 
is chiefly sold in bottles of convenient size, and druggists gen- 
erally dispense it in three forms: (1) the regular formula, (2) 
with pine tar, (3) with muriate of ammonia. Sometimes extra 
ingredients are added to render it more expectorant. That with 
tar is well suited for chronic coughs and for children. As muriate 
of ammonia liquifies the mucus in the throat and lungs it is most 
suited where a cough is tight. 

As a general household cough syrup perhaps it is the most 
universally adapted of any of the syrups of the drug store. As a 
remedy for coughs, bronchitis and irritated conditions of the air 
passages it has been the leader for years. It is not so loosening 
as syrup of ipecac or squills, and, in consequence, is not so effective 
in relieving whooping cough and croup and where a decided 
relaxant expectorant or nauseant is required. 



TAR— Pix Liquida. 

Pure pine tar has always enjoyed a reputation in pulmonary 
affections, and deservedly so. The great drawback to its use has 
been a failure to transform it into a palatable form. 

Such matters are legitimate drug-store manipulations, and 
cannot be relegated to the kitchen. 



TARTAR EMETIC. 569 

Tar water can easily be made by putting a quantity of tar in 
an earthen vessel and adding water thereto. The water will take 
up a certain portion of the tar, and it may be drank ad libitum. 

Tar is an excellent remedy for chronic coughs, catarrhs, and 
pulmonary affections. 

Syrup of Tar is an elegant preparation, and the Wine op 
Tar, procurable at any drug store, is equally so. The close of 
either is from one to two teaspoonfuls. 

Tar Ointment is the best remedy for scald head, and is largely 
used for eczematous eruptions. It will generally cure ringworm,. 

Inhalations of tar vapor, and its application with the atomizer, 
fill an important place in the treatment of catarrhal and throat 
troubles. 

A cup of tar in hot water will give off tar vapor, and in this 
way impart its virtues to the atmosphere of a sick-room. 

Tar is a disinfectant, and may be used in privies and sinks. 



TARTAR EMETIC— Antimonii et Potassii Tartras. 

Tartar Emetic, sometimes called Tartrate of Antimony, appears 
in the form of a white powder, and was formerly much used in 
medicine, but is now seldom employed. 

It is a deadly poison in large doses. 

In medicinal doses of one-twentieth to one-tenth of a grain it acts 
as an expectorant and depressant ; in larger doses, one-half to one 
grain, it acts as a depressing emetic, too depressing for general use. 
When emetics were fashionable, tartar emetic was given in the 
early stages of most acute diseases. We should be thankful that 
these days have passed by. 

Wine of Antimony contains two grains of tartar emetic to the 
ounce ; dose, five to thirty drops. 

It is sometimes given to children, but syrup of ipecac is to be 
preferred. It does not keep well, and should not be used when 
old. 

Coxe's Hive Syrup, or Compound Syrup of Squills, contains three- 
fourths of a grain of tartar emetic to the ounce. It is sometimes 
given to children in croup and other catarrhal affections Dose, 
jive to twenty drops, or, as an emetic, twenty drops to a teaspoonful. 

This syrup should not be given to young children unless pre- 
scribed by a physician, as it is too depressing in its effects. 

Croup at one time was called Hives, hence the name for this 
mixture, which was much used in that affection. The " Hives " of 
the present day is a very different disease. 



570 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



TEREBENE. 

Terebene is a Turpentine compound, resembling its source in 
appearance and effect. It is much used to allay chronic cough, in 
chronic bronchitis and catarrh, and as an expectorant, either alone, 
or in combination with other remedies. 

Like turpentine, it relieves flatulence, and will relieve flatulent 
dyspepsia. The dose is from five to ten drops, preferably in emul- 
sion, but it may be dropped on sugar or given in capsules. 

It is an excellent addition to inhaling compounds, having in a 
measure taken the place of tar, creasote, and carbolic acid. 

Terpine Hydrate occurs in nearly colorless crystals; is used 
in cough remedies to promote expectoration in chronic bronchitis, 
asthma and hay fever. It is usually prescribed in combination in 
pill form or as an elixir. 



THYMOL. 

Thymol occurs in whitish, clear crystals or lumps, of aromatic 
odor and pungent taste. 

It has been used quite extensively in solution as an antiseptic 
dressing, being quite as efficient as carbolic acid and much more 
pleasant to the sense of smell. Its odor has the objection of 
attracting flies, as they seem especially fond of it. 

Applied locally in the form of ointment (five to twenty grains 
to the ounce of prepared lard), it will be found useful in chronic 
skin affections, and two to five grains rubbed with an ounce of 
vaseline will be found an excellent remedy for catarrhal affections 
when applied to the nostrils. 



WILD TURNIP-Arum- 

Also known as Indian Turnip, Bog Onion, etc., is a well known 
plant, the root — the part used — being, when fresh, exceedingly 
hot and acid. 

The author has often sold this article, but why people use it is 
not very apparent. When fresh, it is too strong for ordinary pur- 
poses, but as found in the stores, its strength has evaporated and 
it is practically useless. It is used for a variety of affections, and 
in some countries its acrid principle is driven off by heating it, and 
it is used as a food. It is sometimes used in cough syrups. 



SPIRITS OF TURPENTINE. 571 



SPIRITS OF TURPENTINE-Oleum Terebinthina. 

Spirits of turpentine, or Oil of Turpentine, is the active princi- 
ple of Turpentine, obtained by distillation. 

It is a clear, colorless, inflammable liquid. 

Its medicinal effects are the same as those of turpentine, and it 
is generally used instead of the crude drug. 

Four or five drops of turpentine taken on a lump of sugar 
will remove flatulence in a few minutes, and ten drops on sugar 
will often relieve the pains of colic. 

In doses of from one-half ounce to two ounces, it is one of the 
most effectual remedies for tapeworm, but pumpkin seeds are as 
reliable and much more safe. 

It is often of great service in sciatica. Physicians sometimes 
use it in low fevers of a typhoid type. The dose is from five to 
thirty drops in emulsion. 

Applied to burns, it will generally allay the pain and quicken 
the healing process. It is supposed to " draw out " the fire. For 
this purpose a few drops may be mixed with lard and applied. 

It is one of the many remedies for the itch. The bed and night- 
clothes being sprinkled with one ounce and a half of Spirits of 
Turpentine at night — " the patient finds himself cured on awak- 
ing in the morning." Turpentine taken internally is used for 
spitting of blood — fifteen drops in milk every three hours. 

It increases the flow of urine, and is used to relieve painful 
kidney disorders, and what is sometimes called lumbago. 

It is more used as a liniment than internally ; generally in 
combination with other agents. 

It was formerly much used in vapor form in nasal and throat 
troubles, but Terebene and other drugs have superseded its use. 

Turpentine Stupes are flannel cloths wrung out in hot water, and 
then sprinkled with the Oil, applied to the surface, and covered 
with oil-silk. 

These stupes are found useful in bronchitis, sciatica, and other 
painful diseases. They should be removed in from fifteen to 
thirty minutes. Their odor is objectionable to some people. 

Turpentine is an effectual bed-bug exterminator. Some say that 
it will remove & felon or a boil if applied in the first stages of the 
affection. 

Corns and chilblains are both relieved by applications of tur- 
pentine. 

Small doses on sugar are given as a household remedy in croup, 
diphtheria, whooping cough, and asthma, with more or less success. 



572 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



BALSAM TOLU. 

Balsam of Tolu when fresh is liquid, but as found in the stores 
is a hard, solid resin. 

The only preparations sold are the Tincture and the Syrup. 
The syrup is the one most used, however, and the best thing to 
be said of it is, that is has a very pleasant taste. Practically it 
has very little medicinal value, and its use should be limited to 
imparting flavor to other more active and less palatable remedies. 

TONICS. 

Tonics are medicines which gradually and permanently increase 
the physical and nervous vigor. When taken for a length of 
time, they increase the appetite and power of digestion, while they 
strengthen and invigorate both the nervous and muscular system. 

Tonics differ from stimulants in being less rapid and more 
permanent in their effects. To secure the best results from the 
use of tonics, they must be administered with discretion, and at 
all times within the range of certain limited indications. They 
should not be given in health, as they are apt to act as irritants, 
and in such cases often derange the stomach. 

As they increase the appetite, they are much used to stimulate 
the relish for food. As a loss of appetite is frequently a wise pro- 
vision of nature, demanding that we forego food for a season, the 
use of tonics and appetizers is often hurtful. Patent medicines do 
an immense amount of harm in this way. When tonics are being 
taken, the appetite is generally artificial, and should not be satis- 
fied completely. 

Tonics often fail to benefit because they are not understood. 
Iron, for instance, is one of our best tonics, yet it is very consti- 
pating, and as constipation is often one of the worst symptoms, 
and frequently the cause of debility, the use of iron is apt to 
aggravate, rather than cure, many of those conditions where it 
seems to be indicated. 

Tonics, more than any other class of medicines, are taken inde- 
pendently of professional advice, yet no class of drugs requires 
greater discernment in their administration. 

ENGLISH VALERIAN. 

English Valerian Root grows in Great Britain, and should not 
be confounded with American Valerian, which is Ladies' Slipper, 
and of very feeble virtues as a remedy. 



VINEGAR. 573 

Valerian is much prescribed by physicians, and in domestic 
practice is used to advantage in nervousness, neuralgia, nervous 
headache, and hysteria. 

In that peculiar and distressing nervous condition, with which 
women of all classes are occasionally afflicted, commonly called 
hysteria, there is no medicine more appropriate than Valerian. 
Dose, of the infusion (half ounce of the root to one pint of cold 
water), one or two ounces; Tincture Valerian, dose, one teaspoonful ; 
Ammoniated Tincture of Valerian (an excellent preparation), dose, 
one or two teaspoonfuls. 

The Elixir Valerianate of Ammonia is by far the most 
palatable and desirable preparation of Valerian. Dose, one or two 
teaspoonfuls. 

Preparations of Valerian are often used to quiet the nervousness 
following indulgence in liquors, for which the ammoniated tinc- 
ture is preferred. 

Valerianate of Zinc in pill form, in doses of one grain, is much 
used for epilepsy. 

VINEGAR-Acetum. 

This well-known article is very similar to the Dilute Acetic Acid 
of the drug store, the latter consisting of Pure Acetic Acid, one 
part added to seven parts of water. Acetic acid is made from 
wood. Much of the vinegar sold is acetic acid flavored with 
apples. None but pure apple vinegar should be used as food, and 
it should be partaken of sparingly. When used too freely as a 
food, it deranges the digestion. It is said that one part of vinegar 
to the thousand of food will render the latter less digestible. 

Vinegar, and articles requiring its use as a condiment, are some- 
times consumed as " anti-fat " diet. The reduction in flesh is 
due to an impaired nutrition, and vinegar should never be used 
to reduce the flesh. When used too freely as a medicine or food, 
it is liable to produce a scorbutic condition of the system. 

Vinegar is a valuable article in the sick-room. When lemons 
cannot be procured, it may be used to acidulate drinks in fevers 
and to quench thirst. A teaspoonful each of vinegarand molasses 
in a cup of cold water is a pleasant summer drink or "beverage" 
when water disagrees with (lie stomach. Tablespoonful doses of 
vinegar are sometimes given to relieve alcoholic intoxication. 

It is much employed in the household as an external applica- 
tion. Diluted with water, it forms an agreeable and refreshing 
lotion to the face and head in fevers and headache; sponging the 
body with it at night will often prevent nigld-sweats. 



574 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

Snuffed up the nostrils it will stop nose-bleed. Injected into the 
bowel it destroys seat-worms, but is inferior to infusion of quassia 
for this purpose. Sunburn and freckles are rendered less distinct 
and sometimes removed altogether by the persistent application 
of vinegar. 

Itching skin diseases, milk crust, and ring-worm are often relieved 
by its external use, diluted with three times as much water. 

Half-teaspoonful doses of vinegar are a household remedy for 
croup, and vinegar fumes will often greatly relieve the membran- 
ous form of croup. Hot bricks should be placed in a pan con- 
taining vinegar ; in this way the room becomes filled with an 
acetic vapor which is said to be highly beneficial to the last- 
named disease. 



UNICORN ROOTS-AIetris Farinosa. 

This plant, also known as Star Grass, Bitter Grass, Devil's Root, 
Colic Root, etc, grows in dry, barren soils, in most parts of the 
United States. 

It is intensely bitter, and large doses produce nausea and vom- 
iting. It is often combined with other remedies as a tonic, especi- 
ally in rheumatism and dropsy of a chronic nature. 



UVA URSI. 

Uva Ursi is also known as Wild Cranberry and Bearberry. 

It grows in Europe, Asia, and America ; the leaves are used in 
medicine. 

Uva Ursi is an astringent tonic with a mild tendency to the 
kidneys. It is useful in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, and in 
chronic affections of the urinary organs. 

The Fluid Extract is the best preparation. Dose, one-third to 
one teaspoonful. 

WAHOO— Euonymus. 

Wahoo is found in many portions of the United States, and the 
bark of the root is the part used. 

It is mildly laxative, and in the constipation of dyspepsia, pul- 
monary affections, and torpid liver, it often operates to advantage. 

The Fluid Extract, Tincture, or Infusion may be used. The first 
named, however, is to be preferred, and may be given in doses 
of one-half to one teaspoonful. 

It has been used with asserted benefit in dropsy. 



HOT WATER — MINERAL WATERS. 575 



HOT WATER. 

Hot, or Warm, Water, has been much used in the treatment of 
disease. The " Hot Water Cure " was the basis, some years ago, 
of quite a craze in popular practice. 

When taken into the stomach, hot water acts as a stimulant to 
that organ, and also to the other organs and nerves in the 
vicinity. It finds its way into the tissues of the body much more 
quickly than is the case when cold water is drank. 

The most prominent " Water Cure " — known as the " Salisbury 
Treatment " — consists of drinking about a pint of hot water one 
hour before each meal. The temperature of the water should be 
from 110° to 120° Fahr. It is said to act better if it be slowly 
sipped, and the treatment should be kept up for several months. 
It is claimed that under this treatment some of the most intract- 
able forms of stomach, liver, kidney, and bowel troubles disappear. 

Dyspepsia, liver complaint, biliousness, nervousness, sleeplessness, 
headache, and constipation are the most important affections for 
which it has been recommended. 

The author has known this treatment to be employed in a 
number of cases, and those who have tried it have been unanimous 
in its praise. 

It certainly possesses one feature worthy of mention : it is per- 
fectly harmless. It costs nothing, can do no injury, will not 
interfere with any other treatment, and is to be heartily recom- 
mended. To that class of persons who think they require the 
constant use of medicines, to calm the nerves, to quiet the brain, 
to ease the stomach, and to relax the bowels, it is an exceedingly 
commendable measure. 



MINERAL WATERS. 

During the past few years the consumption of Mineral Waters 
has reached mammoth proportions, and the market is burdened 
with an almost endless variety of kinds. Some of them are but 
little more than ordinary water, while others are surcharged with 
various substances, and have the power of acting in specific ways 
upon the physical economy. 

Those containing laxative ingredients are the most used, and 
furnish a very desirable method for regulating the secretions. 

It must be admitted that the virtue which these waters impart 
is often largely due to the water itself and not to the ingredients 
contained therein. When invalids and others visit mineral 



576 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

springs, the change of surroundings and the mental relaxation 
from cares often deserve much of the credit which the water of 
the locality receives ; that the water is an important element in 
the treatment cannot, however, be gainsaid. 

Apollinaris, Underwood Spring, Saratoga, Seltzer, and many others, 
are valuable on account of the carbonic acid gas which they 
contain. They also contain small quantities of saline material, 
but become insipid if left uncorked. 

Plain Soda Water, as furnished from the fountain in drug stores, 
when properly made, is an admirable and wholesome drink. I 
have found it to be an excellent remedy for headache, indigestion, 
and thirst incident to hot weather. 

Laxative Mineral Waters are more used than any other kind, at 
least such has been my experience. Hunyadi Janos is, perhaps, 
the strongest in laxative qualities. Pullna, Friedrichshall, and 
Carlsbad, with many others, are more or less laxative and answer 
an excellent purpose. 

Alkaline Mineral Waters are often prescribed by physicians, and 
it is always best to confine this particular class of waters to special 
cases. The chief ones are Vichy, Buffalo Lithia, Bcthesda, and 
Gettysburg. 

Sulphurous Mineral Waters have been highly prized as alterative 
remedies in chronic affections, but their unpleasant odor and taste 
confine their use to well-defined indications. 

In every well stocked drug store may be found a supply of 
mineral waters. There are many almost worthless. Because 
water forces itself up from the bowels of the earth is no reason 
that it possesses peculiar medicinal virtues, but there are few of 
such that have not been so lauded. 

Again, much of the mineral water sold is artificial ; yet, aside 
from the deception, it is often as desirable as the genuine. The 
proper way of employing these waters is to carefully and intelli- 
gently decide which one is best suited, and use it faithfully and 
freely. Temporary use of such articles for a day or two, except 
it be the laxatives, amounts to but little. 



WATERMELON SEED. 

Watermelon Seed Tea was formerly a highly prized drink in 
cases of strangury, and as a diuretic in dropsical affections. 

It decidedly increases the flow of urine, is harmless, and in 
catarrhal and irritated conditions of the kidneys, bladder, and 



WORMSEED — OIL OF WORMSEED WORMWOOD. 577 

urinary tract, might often advantageously supplant the employ- 
ment of more objectionable remedies. 

The Tea, or Infusion, is made by adding a pint of hot water to 
one or two ounces of the seeds previously bruised, and left covered 
for one or two hours. Dose, a half teacupful or more, taken 
cold, three or four times a da} r . 

Watermelon juice is decidedly diuretic, and its use is to be 
recommended to those who need a harmless kidney tonic, as is the 
condition in many cases of dropsy. 



WORMSEED. 

OIL OF WORMSEED. 

Wormseed, obtained from the Chenopodium, or Jerusalem Oak, 
consist of brownish seeds the size of loins' heads and of a nause- 
ous, pungent taste. 

Oil of Wormseed, or Oil of Chenopodium, is a very effectual 
worm destroyer. It is the active ingredient in a number of patent 
vermifuges. 

The chief objection to its use is its intensely disagreeable taste 
and smell ; it may well be said of it, " The remedy is worse than 
the disease." It should not be used until less objectionable reme- 
dies have failed. Dose, for a child five years old, ten drops on 
sugar or in the form of an emulsion. 



WORMWOOD-Absinthium. 

The strong, pungent odor and intensely bitter taste of this herb 
is known to all. The tops and leaves are used in medicine. It 
is tonic to the stomach and is useful in dyspepsia. Before qui- 
nine came into use, it was frequently prescribed for chills and 
fever. 

On account of its intensely disagreeable taste, it is but little 
used internally. 

The di cod ion is a popular local remedy for sprains and bruises. 

Oil of Wormtvood, with many physicians, is a favorite ingredient 
in liniments. It is very high in price, and much of that sold is 
adulterated. 



37 



578 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 



WILD CHERRY BARK-Prunus Virginiana. 

Wild cherry bark enjoys a universal reputation as a remedy for 
pulmonary affections, but it does not deserve the praise it has 
received. 

It contains a small amount of prussic acid, which is somewhat 
palliative to a cough; it contains tannic acid, which may lessen 
the night-sweats of consumption, and it contains a bitter tonic, 
which improves the appetite and digestion. 

The cold infusion may be used ad libitum by consumptives, and 
it is well calculated to prove highly beneficial. 

It is well adapted as a tonic, during convalescence from acute dis- 
eases, rating with chamomile and quassia. 

The Syrup op Wild Cherry is an excellent vehicle with 
which to combine other medicines of more decided power. 

Small doses of the syrup are well adapted to the irritation of 
chronic cough. If it is desired to kave it more expectorant, add a 
little syrup of ipecac or squills ; if more anodyne, add a little 
paregoric. Elderly people who are troubled with cough may 
secure much comfort by carefully utilizing these mild remedies. 

The fluid extract can be used for infusions, but it has no advan- 
tage over the freshly dried bark. No heat should be employed in 
preparing medicines from wild cherry, as it destroys its medicinal 
virtues. 

WINTERGREEN-Gaultheria. 

OIL OF WINTERGREEN-Oleum Gaultheri. 

Wintergreen, also known as Partridge Berry, Deer Berry, Trail- 
ing Gaultheria, Mountain Tea, etc., is a small evergreen plant 
growing throughout the Eastern and Southern states. Winter- 
green is slightly stimulant, aromatic, and astringent. It is seldom 
used alone. 

Essence of Wintergreen fills an important place in a drug 
store as a flavoring for distasteful medicines. 

Oil op Wintergreen is the heaviest of all essential oils, being 
much heavier than water. It is either colorless or of a brownish 
color, and has a pleasant odor and taste ; it is largely used to 
flavor medicines, candy, etc. 

It contains salicylic acid, and during the past few years it has 
been used with much success in the treatment of rheumatism, 
especially of the chronic variety. 

It should be given in the form of emulsion. 

Dose, ten to twenty drops three times daily. 



WITCH HAZEL — YELLOW DOCK — YERBA SANTA. 579 



WITCH HAZEL-Hamamelis. 

Witch Hazel, in name at least, has become familiar to most 
every one, through the advertisements of " Pond's Extract." Popu- 
lar practice has recognized many remarkable virtues in this drug. 
It is scarcely ever sold except in the form of the "Distilled 
Extract," which is a clear liquid, containing a small amount of 
alcohol. When applied locally, it is somewhat stimulating and 
astringent, and is quite pleasant to use — in fact, it answers an 
excellent purpose. 

It is used with benefit in piles, especially of the bleeding vari- 
ety ; and also in sprains and bruises, foul ulcers, and as a wash in 
uterine difficulties. It is a grateful lotion for sunburnt and irritated 
surfaces. Cloths saturated with it form an excellent application 
for old sores and ulcers, especially for sore legs. One part of the 
Extract and two parts of Glycerine form an effectual gargle for 
sore throat. 

For years I have been in the habit of suggesting to customers, 
when they called for glycerine for chapped hands and face, that 
they accept Glycerine and Witch Hazel mixed in equal parts, 
as I have found it a very agreeable application for such purposes. 

When Witch Hazel is bought in bottles from druggists, it is 
usually labeled with elaborate directions, and will be found a 
very useful remedy to have in the house. 



YELLOW DOCK-Rumex. 

Yellow Dock grows wild in the United States, and the root is 
supposed to possess medicinal qualities, yet it cannot be claimed 
for it that they are very pronounced. 

It is somewhat astringent, faintly tonic, and is supposed to act 
on the blood. 

It is scarcely recognized in general practice, yet it is an ingre- 
dient of several pseudo-officinal compounds, put forth as blood- 
purifiers. 

The fluid extract can be procured, the dose of which is about one 
teaspoonful. 

YERBA SANTA. 

Yerba Santa, or Consumptive's Weed, an evergreen plant growing 
on the Pacific border, has been more or less prescribed during the 
past few years as a remedy lor couyhs, colds, bronchitis and con- 



580 MEDICINES AND OTHER REMEDIES. 

sumption. Its use, however, has largely subsided, as it has not 
been found to possess any advantage over other and more familiar 
drugs. 

Yerba Santa will almost entirely disguise the taste of quinine 
when given with it, suspended in syrup, and in this respect has 
filled a useful mission. 

Dose of the Fluid Extract, ten to thirty drops. 



ZINC— Zincum. 

Zinc in its various forms was formerly much used in medicine, 
but it is gradually disappearing as an internal remedy. It is 
much employed as an external application. 

Sulphate of Zinc. This substance, known also as "white 
vitriol," looks very much like Epsom salts; so much so indeed 
that Sulphate of Zinc should always be carefully labeled and 
marked "poison." 

In doses of ten to twenty grains it is the most prompt and the 
safest emetic that can be given in cases of narcotic poisoning. 

The ordinary dose as a tonic and astringent in chronic 
diarrhoea, etc., is one or two grains. 

One to three grains in an ounce of rose water forms one of the 
very best applications for sore eyes; somewhat stronger, it is used 
for ulceration of the ear, and of variable strength as a stimulating 
wash for slow ulcers, abscesses and unhealthy surfaces. 

A solution may be used for offensive perspiration of the feet and 
armpits. 

Valerianate of Zinc is used in epilepsy and other nervous 
diseases. Dose one to three grains in pill form. 

Chloride of Zinc is generally sold in one ounce vials. It 
liquefies when exposed to the atmosphere. Its use is confined 
almost wholly to veterinary practice. 

Pure Oxide of Zinc. This is the most important preparation 
of this metal. Oxide of Zinc and the Precipitated Carbonate of 
Zinc are both much used as cosmetics. The various beautifiers, 
such as " Bloom of Youth," " Complexion Cream," etc., are, as a 
rule, made from Oxide of Zinc. These preparations are not sup- 
posed to be harmful to the skin, if used judiciously. 

Oxide of Zinc Ointment is a staple article in all drug stores, 
and is one of the best possible applications for sores of various 
kinds, and for the cure of many skin diseases. It is soothing and 
astringent. 



PART IV. 



MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS, 

RECEIPTS AND FORMULAS, 
CLASSIFIED AND SYSTEMATICALLY ARRANGED. 

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR TREATING THE SICK. 



DISINFECTANTS— ANTISEPTICS— DEODORIZERS— POISONS AND THEIR 

ANTIDOTES— THE DESTRUCTION OF INSECTS— RECEIPTS FOR 

TOILET REQUISITES AND HOUSEHOLD ARTICLES. 



PART IV. 



CLASSIFIED REMEDIES, FORMULAS, SUGGES- 
TIONS, ETC. 

The following Classification of Remedies brings within a small 
compass most of the important articles used in popular medicine. 
The doses stated are for adults. A more extended account of each 
article will be found in Part III, the object here being to bring to 
mind at a glance, those remedies which are used for the same 
purposes, and in a brief way tell when each should be selected. 
Those composed of drugs can be compounded at most any drug 
store. 



CATHARTICS AND LAXATIVES. 

Cascaria Sageada. Fluid Extract, Aromatic Fluid Extract, 
Elixir, Cordial, Extract in pill form or compounded with other 
medicines, while not suited for large doses, in small doses as a 
laxative in chronic constipation and inactive bowels it is con- 
sidered by many as the best remedy known. 
Epjom Salts. Dose, one to three teaspoonfuls in water. Suited 

to most cases requiring a purgative. 
Skhna and Salts. In the form of tea this is a very efficient 

cathartic. Suited to most cases where a safe and speedy 

cathartic is required. 
Solution Citrate of Magnesia. Dose, one-half to one bottle. 

Perhaps the most pleasant cathartic we have, and suited to 

most cases where it is desired to empty the bowels. 
Granular Effervescent Citrate of Magnesia. Dose, one 

heaping tablespoonful in water. Very similar to the above. 
Seidlitz Powders. Dose, one as laxative ; two as free cathartic. 

Sick headache, overloaded stomach, fevers, constipation and 

biliousness. 
Rochelle Salts. Dose, one or two heaping teaspoonfuls in water. 

Acute dyspepsia, biliousness, constipation and fevers. 
Calcined Magnesia (heavy). Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful 

583 



584 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

in water. Sour stomach, heartburn, sore mouth, and foul 
breath. 

Castor Oil. Dose, one to six teaspoonfuls shaken in warm 
milk. Diarrhoea, dysentery, colds, acute catarrh, irritated 
bowels. 

Compound Licorice Powder. Dose, one to two teaspoonfuls in 
warm water. Constipation, biliousness, headache, dyspepsia. 

Compound Cathartic Pills, U. S. P. Dose, one to three at night. 
Constipation, torpid liver, biliousness, headache. Should not 
be frequently repeated. 

Senna Tea. Made from one-fourth to one ounce. A good cathar- 
tic. Overloaded stomach, headache, constipation. 

Vegetable Cathartic Pills. One to three. Headache, consti- 
pation, biliousness, torpid liver. 

Compound Cathartic Elixir ; sold in bulk. Dose, one to three 
teaspoonfuls. Constipation, torpid liver, headache, and dyspep- 
sia. This is a very excellent preparation ; far superior to patent 
liquid cathartics. 

Phosphate of Soda. Dose, one to six teaspoonfuls in warm 
water or soup. Torpid liver, biliousness, and as a laxative for 
sickly, rickety children. 

Cream op Tartar. Dose, one to three teaspoonfuls in warm 
water or lemonade. Headache, fevers, dropsy, and blood de- 
rangements. 

Sulphur. Dose, one to three teaspoonfuls in molasses. A mild 
laxative in skin diseases and specially useful in piles. 

Sulphur and Cream of Tartar. Two-thirds Sulphur, one- 
third Cream of Tartar. Dose, one-third to one teaspoonful in 
syrup or molasses, one to three times a day. Rheumatism, 
constipation, piles, skin diseases, and impurities of the blood. 

Rhubarb. In the form of root or powder. Well adapted to 
relieving constipation of old people ; dose as required. 

Spiced Syrup and Plain Syrup of Rhubarb. Dose, one-half to 
two teaspoonfuls for child. Especially useful in bowel affec- 
tions of children. 

Hunjadi Water. Dose, one tablespoonful to one-half teacupful. 
Constipation, dyspepsia, biliousness, and torpid liver. 

Cascara Cordial or Elixir of Cascara. Dose, one teaspoonful 
as laxative. Chronic constipation. 

Common Salt. Dose, one teaspoonful in glass of warm water on 
rising in the morning. Chronic constipation and dyspepsia. 

Podophyllin Pills. Dose, one-fourth to one grain. Torpid 
liver, biliousness and chronic constipation. 

Rectal Injections. Dose, one pint to two quarts water. Soap 



COUGH MEDICINES AND EXPECTORANTS. 585 

or salt may be added. To be preferred always to cathartics 
when to empty the bowels only is required. See article on 
injections. 
Glycerine Suppositories. Excellent for constipation; they 

operate in a very short time ; specially useful when traveling. 
Pills, Aloin, Strychnine and Belladonna. Dose, one or two 
as laxative. Constipation, dyspepsia, liver disorders, and gen- 
eral debility. 

Of the entire list of cathartics and laxatives perhaps Cas- 
cara Sagrada is the best laxative for general use. Compound 
Licorice Powder is perhaps second and Phosphate of Soda a 
worthy rival. Epsom Salts and Solution Citrate of Magnesia per- 
haps operate the easiest. Compound Cathartic Pills are perhaps 
the most thorough. Rectal injections are the least debilitating. 
Seidlitz Powders perhaps the most satisfactory after eating and 
during active exercise. 



COUGH MEDICINES AND EXPECTORANTS. 

Syrup of Ipecac. Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. Coughs, 
colds, bronchitis ; especially adapted for children ; croup, catarrh 
with fever. 

Syrup of Squills. Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful. Late 
stages of a cold, bronchitis, or catarrh ; especially useful when 
cough is tight. 

Syrup of Wild Cherry. Dose, one to three teaspoonfuls. 
Chronic cough of consumptives, night cough, cough of habit, 
cough of dyspepsia and of general debility. 

Syrup of Tolu. Not often taken alone ; it possesses but little 
value ; used to aid the action of and flavor more active medi- 
cines. 

Turlington's Balsam. Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful in 
sugar and water. Chronic cough, bronchitis, catarrh, chronic 
sore throat. 

British Oil. Dose, ten to twenty drops on sugar. Bad colds, 
catarrh, bronchitis, chronic coughs generally. 

Coxe's Hive Syrup. Dose, ten drops to one-half teaspoonful. 
Croup, bronchitis, and tight and obstinate coughs. Too power- 
ful for young children. 

Brown Mixture. Dose, one tea- to one tablespoonful. An 
excellent general cough mixture; coughs, colds, bronchitis, 
catarrhal affections, and consumption. Brown mixture can 
be procured in the form of lozenges, and they arc well suited 



586 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

to throat and bronchial troubles. One teaspoonful may be 
given to children every three or four hours. 

Wine op Tar. Syrup op Tar. Mixture of Oil of Tar. Dose 
of either one-half to one teaspoonful. Chronic cough, consump- 
tion, chronic bronchitis, cough of habit. Tar is supposed to be 
somewhat tonic, and is often prescribed where the digestion, as 
well as the lungs, is deranged. 

Asafcetida. Dose, one to three grains in pill form. Chronic 
cough, especially when due to nervousness, dyspepsia, or from 
habit ; especially adapted for old persons. 

Oil of Eucalyptus. Dose, five drops on sugar. Chronic coughs 
of all kinds, catarrh, bronchitis, and consumption. 

Chloride of Ammonia. Dose, three to ten grains in solution. 
An excellent addition to cough and throat mixtures ; it loosens 
phlegm, and removes catarrhal conditions ; specially useful in 
chronic cases. It can be procured in the form of lozenges. 

Terebene. Dose, three to five drops on sugar. Coughs and 
catarrhs of all kinds, especially of a chronic nature. 

Syrup of Terebene. Dose, one teaspoonful. Very useful in 
chronic cough. 

Black Stick Licorice. Dose, much less than what is usually swal- 
lowed. Sore throat, hoarseness, catarrh, and chronic cough. 
Licorice Root is very effectual in relieving coughs and throat 
troubles. 

Bronchial Troches are used too freely; generally contain 
opium. Cautiously used, of benefit in sore throat, hoarseness, 
and bronchitis. 

Cough Lozenges and Candies. Sparingly used, are beneficial in 
irritable throat, hoarseness, and cough when not due to de- 
ranged digestion. Bad colds are often due to faulty digestion, 
and in such cases lozenges are apt to aggravate. 

Tincture of Aconite. Three drops every two or three hours ; 
very useful during first stages of cold with cough. Being a 
poison, care must attend its use. 

Tincture of Belladonna. Three drops every two or three 
hours. Irritable cough with excessive secretion. Especially 
useful in cough with night-sweats. 

Demulcents, such as Licorice Root, Gum Arabic, Elm Bark, 
Flaxseed Tea, Hot Lemonade, and Glycerine will often relieve 
a cough. Flaxseed Tea, with a little paregoric added, excellent 
for irritating cough. 

Fluid Extract Grindelia. Dose, ten to thirty drops. Chronic 
cough, bronchitis, asthma, and catarrhal conditions generally. 



COUGH MEDICINES AND EXPECTORANTS. 587 

The following is a very mild cough mixture, and is well suited 
to relieve nervous cough, irritable throat, and cough from 
habit : — 

COUGH MIXTURE. 

Syrup of wild cherry, .... 6 drachms 

Camphor water, 1 ounce 

Syrup of ipecac, 2 drachms. 

Mix. A teaspooonful every two or three hours. 

I have sold the following for years, and it has given good satis- 
faction as a — 

GENERAL COUGH MIXTURE. 

Syrup of squill, 1 ounce 

Syrup of ipecac, 1 ounce 

Syrup of tolu, 1 ounce 

Sweet spirits of nitre, .... 1 ounce 

Powdered extract of licorice, . . 30 grains. 

Mix. Shake well and take a teaspoonful every few 
hours, as required. 

If a more anodyne and quieting mixture is needed, one grain 
of morphia may be added to the above. 

COUGH SYRUP. 

The following will compare very favorably with the various 
expectorants on the market : — 

Tincture of cohosh, 
Tincture of bloodroot, 
Paregoric, 
Syrup of ipecac, 
Syrup of squill, 
Syrup of tolu, 

Mix. Take one or two teaspoonfuls as required. 

COUGH MIXTURE. 

The following will be found useful in chronic bronchitis and 
catarrhal conditions of the throat and chest : — 

Chloride of ammonia, .... 2 drachms 

Chloroform, 1 drachm 

Brown mixture, 3 ounces. 

Mix. Shake well and take a teaspoonful three or four 
times a day. 



one ounce of each. 



588 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

COUGH SYRUP. 

The following forms a cheap but quite effectual cough mixture. 
It is very similar to Jayne's Expectorant, and generally gives 
satisfaction : — 

Wine of antimony, J ounce 

Vinegar of squills, J ounce 

Laudanum, 3 drachms 

Oil of wintergreen, 20 drops. 

Sugar-house molasses, .... 8 ounces. 

LEMON JUICE COUGH SYRUP. 

Citrate of potash, 1 drachm 

Lemon juice, 2 drachms 

Syrup of ipecac | ounce 

Simple syrup to make .... 4 ounces. 



GARGLES AND MOUTH WASHES. 

Solution of Chlorate of Potash (one ounce to one pint). Ex- 
tremely useful in all forms of sore throat, pharyngitis, hoarse- 
ness, and enlarged tonsils. Improved by adding honey. 

Cohen's Gargle, containing chlorate of potash, guaiac, etc. Ex- 
cellent in all forms of sore throat, diphtheria, pharyngitis, and 
enlarged tonsils. A teaspoonful may be swallowed every six 
hours to advantage. 

Red Pepper Tea. Used sometimes as a gargle in acute sore 
throat and pharyngitis. 

Lime Water. Is sometimes useful to dissolve the false membrane 
of croup and diphtheria. 

Alcohol, diluted with from one to six parts of water. In ordi- 
nary sore throat, especially of a diphtheritic nature. 

Alum Gargle. One teaspoonful alum to one-half tumbler of 
water. Inflamed and relaxed throat with fetid breath. It 
injures the teeth. 

Cold Sage Tea, made strong, is a tonic to the throat, well suited 
to elongated uvula and enlarged tonsils. 

Carbolic Acid Gargle. Three drops to each ounce of water, 
sometimes useful for offensive breath due to sore throat. 



SPRAYS AND WASHES FOR THE NOSE AND THROAT. 589 

Vinegar, diluted to suit with water, serves as a useful gargle. 

Tannin Gargle. Thirty grains to four ounces of water. Useful 
in relaxed throat, elongated uvula, and enlarged tonsils. 

Nitrate of Silver or Lunar Caustic, both in stick and solu- 
tion, is much used by physicians, but it is entirely unsuited to 
general use. 

Distilled Extract op Witch Hazel. Well suited to chronic 
sore throat, enlarged tonsils, elongated uvula, and weakness of 
the voice. 

Salt Water. This forms an excellent gargle in ordinary sore 
throat. 

ASTRINGENT GARGLE. 

The following will be found to be a superior gargle in all forms 
of sore throat : — 

Sumach berries, 1 ounce 

Chlorate of potash, J ounce 

Boiling water, 1 pint. 

Simmer in an earthen vessel, with occasional stirring, to three- 
fourths of a pint, and strain. 

Use as ordinary gargles every three or four hours. 

GARGLE FOR DIPHTHERIA. 

In diphtheria a gargle similar to the following is generally 
prescribed : — 

Tincture of iron, 2 drachms 

Chlorate of potash, 2 drachms 

Glycerine, 3 drachms 

Water to make 4 ounces. 

Mix. Gargle every three hours. 



SPRAYS AND WASHES FOR THE NOSE AND THROAT. 

The most desirable sprays or atomizers are those which throw 
a continuous spray, and which have but a single bulb. 

The interrupted spray producer, however, answers every pur- 
pose, is less liable to get out of order, and costs less money than 
other kinds. 



590 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

Spraying the nose and throat is an effectual method of cleansing 
the parts, destroying fetor, and restoring the membrane to a 
healthy condition. 

The following solutions are of proper strength to use in the 
form of spray for the nose and throat : — 

Carbolic Acid. Ten drops to four ounces lime water. Diph- 
theria, etc. 
Carbolic Acid. Six drops to four ounces water. Sore throat, 

catarrh, etc. 
Chlorate of Potash. Twenty to sixty grains to four ounces 

water. Catarrh, fetor, etc. 
Borax. Fifteen to sixty grains to four ounces water. Catarrh 

with accumulations. 
Common Salt. — Fifteen to one hundred and twenty grains to 

four ounces water. Chronic catarrh. 
Permanganate of Potash. Ten grains to four ounces water. 

Fetid breath, ozsena. 
Tincture of Iron. Ten to sixty drops to four ounces water. 

Diphtheria. 
Tannin. Ten to sixty grains in four ounces water. Relaxed 

throat and uvula. 
Alum. Ten to sixty grains in four ounces water. Relaxed throat 

and uvula. 
Quinine. Two to ten grains in four ounces water. Hay fever, 

asthma, etc. 
Nitrate of Silver. Two to twenty grains in four ounces water. 

Sore throat. 

Alkaline Antiseptic Solution. Diluted with one to three 
parts of water excellent for cleansing and healing. 

Dobell's Solution. Found in all drug stores — a standard 
spraying mixture for the nose and throat. 

Peroxide of Hydrogen. Diluted two to four times — an ex- 
cellent cleansing and antiseptic spray or gargle. 

All applications in the nose should be used warm. 



CATARRH SNUFFS. 

Powdered loaf sugar, . . . . | ounce 

Powdered borax, 

Powdered common salt, . . 
Oil of peppermint, . . . 
Mix and triturate thoroughly 



i ounce 
| ounce 
4 drops. 
To be used as a snuff 



several times daily in catarrh. 



SPRAYS AND WASHES FOR THE NOSE AND THROAT. 591 

The following acts in a charming manner in catarrh of the 
back part of the nasal cavities : — 

Subnitrate of bismuth, ... 3 drachms 
Powdered gum arabic, ... 1 drachm 
Muriate of morphia, .... 1 grain. 
Mix thoroughly. Use as catarrh snuff. 

The following is a most excellent catarrh snuff. It has been 
largely used by the profession and gives general satisfaction : — 

Sub-carbonate of bismuth, . . 3 drachms 

Powdered starch, 1 drachm 

Muriate of morphia, .... 1 grain. 

Thoroughly mix and powder. Use as catarrh snuff 
several times a day. 

Gargle for chronic catarrh attended with irritated throat and 
cough. It will often relieve the cough of nasal catarrh better 
than anything else: — 

Carbolic acid crystals, ... 30 grains 

Borax 2 drachms 

Phosphate of soda, .... 2 drachms 

Tannic acid, 2 drachms 

Glycerine, \ ounce 

Water, \\ ounces. 

Mix. Stir one or two teaspoonfuls in a glass of water 

and use as a gargle early in the morning, and two 

or three times during the day. 

COHEN'S GARGLE. 

The following is one of the best possible gargles for sore throat, 
pharyngitis, and tonsilitis, whether acute or chronic, that it is pos- 
sible to devise. It may be used many times a day, and a tea- 
spoonful may be swallowed with benefit three times a day for 
several days in succession : — 

Ammoniated tincture of guaiac, 2 drachms 
Compound tincture of cinchona, 2 drachms 

Clarified honey, 6 drachms. 

Mix and add saturated solution of chlorate of potash 

to make four ounces. 
Mix. Shake well. Use as a gargle every hour or two 
or less frequently. 



592 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 



FEVER REMEDIES. 

Sweet Spirits of Nitre. Dose, ten to forty drops every one to 

three hours. Small doses frequently repeated act better than 

large doses. 
Lemonade. Drank at liberty. 
Spirits of Mindererus. Dose, one tablespoonful every two or 

three hours. 
Citrate of Potash. Dose, ten to fifteen grains every two or 

three hours in solution. 
Tincture of Aconite. Dose, two to five drops every three 

hours, as ordered by a physician. 
Cold Water. Small quantities frequently drank. 
Sponging the Body with tepid water, or with vinegar and water, 

or diluted alcohol. Cold to the head. 
Dilute Muriatic Acid. Dose, ten drops in water every few 

hours, as prescribed in continued fevers. 
Quinine. Ten grains daily when due to malaria. 



LINIMENTS AND COUNTER-IRRITANTS. 

Soap Liniment. Used for local pains, sprains, bruises, and rheu- 
matic pains. It should be rubbed on. 

Chloroform Liniment. Painful affections, neuralgia, rheumatic 
pains, and sciatica. 

Hartshorn or Ammonia Liniment. Sore throat, catarrh, cold 
on the chest, and rheumatism. Should be covered after ap- 
plied. 

Camphor Liniment or Camphorated Oil. Sprains, bruises, 
rheumatism, local pains, and glandular swellings. 

Tincture of Arnica. Cuts, bruises, injuries, sprains, swellings, 
inflammations, and painful affections. 

Tincture of Iodine. Old or chronic enlargements, swollen 
glands, especially of a scrofulous nature. 

Turpentine Liniment. Rheumatism, chronic pains, lumbago, 
sciatica. 

Laudanum. Pains, small cuts, bruises, abscesses, boils, felons, 
severe local swellings. 



LINIMENTS AND COUNTER-IRRITANTS. 593 

Lead Water and Laudanum. Inflammations, accompanied by 
pain, fever, and swellings, painful conditions generally. 

Menthol Cones. Local neuralgia, face-ache, headache, superfi- 
cial pains about the face and head. 

Baume Tranquille. To be rubbed on in local neuralgia, rheu- 
matism, chronic swellings. A few drops in ear for earache. 

Crude Petroleum. A good liniment for man or beast, but is 
specially useful in veterinary practice. 

Stokes' Liniment. Can be prepared by any druggist. Rheuma- 
tism, stiff joints, pains in the muscles, and as a general house- 
hold liniment. 

Liniment of Iodide of Ammonia. Chronic affections, enlarge- 
ments, chronic swellings, rheumatism, and gout. 

Extract of Witch Hazel. Inflammations, swellings, neuralgia, 
itching, and irritation of the skin. 

ARMY LINIMENT. 

Liquor ammonia, 1 ounce 

Oil turpentine, 1 ounce 

Olive oil, 1 ounce. 

Mix. 

A cheap and useful household liniment. 

A GOOD RHEUMATIC LINIMENT. 

Oil of wintergreen, \ ounce 

Soap liniment, \\ ounce. 

Mix. Apply to the painful parts. 

GENERAL HOUSEHOLD LINIMENT. 

The following forms an excellent liniment for general purposes , 
especially useful in rheumatism and painful affections : — 

Soap liniment, 3 ounces 

Aqua ammonia, \ ounce 

Laudanum, \ ounce. 

Mix. Use as a liniment. 

ANODYNE LINIMENT. 

The following is a very useful liniment for pains in the muscles, 
accompanied with spasms : — 

Tincture belladonna, .... 2 drachms 

Soap liniment, 3 ounces. 

Mix. 

38 



'.04 



MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 



COMPOUND ORIGANUM LINIMENT. 

This liniment has been much prescribed by one of the leading 
physicians of Philadelphia, and is highly recommended for rheu- 
matism and painful affections generally : — 

Camphor, 4 drachms 

Oil origanum, 1J fluid ounces 

Laudanum, 1J fluid ounces 

Olive oil, 2J fluid ounces 

Ammonia, 2| fluid ounces. 

Mix. Use as a liniment. 



LINIMENT OF ACONITE AND CHLOROFORM. 

This is a very powerful anodyne liniment, well suited to cases 
of sciatica, rheumatism, neuralgia, and other painful complaints 
where a decided impression is desired. 

Tincture of aconite, 2 drachms 

Chloroform, 2 drachms 

Soap liniment, 12 drachms. 

Mix. Use as a liniment. 

INSTANTANEOUS OIL. 

A very penetrating liniment, well adapted for sprains and 
stiffness of the joints : — 

Oil of wormwood, 1 drachm 

Oil of sassafras, 2 drachms 

Oil of cinnamon, 2 drachms 

Chloroform, £ drachm 

Alcohol, 4 ounces. 

Mix. Use as a liniment. 



OINTMENTS, SALVES AND DRESSINGS. 

Vaseline, Cosmoline, Petrolatum. Almost universally appli- 
cable wherever bland ointment or dressing is desired. 

Cold Cream. Chapped hands, sore lips, sunburn and dryness of 
the skin. 



BLOOD PURIFIERS, OR ALTERATIVES. 595 

Camphor Ice. Chapped hands and face, sore lips, sunburn, 

roughness of the skin. A most excellent article. 
Goulard's Cerate. Burns, scalds, chilblains, eruptions of the 

skin ; especially useful where the parts are hot, and swollen. 
Oxide of Zinc Ointment. Chronic eczema, ulcers, abrasions 

and skin diseases. 
Basilicon Ointment. Indolent ulcers, such as when burns, 

scalds or blisters fail to heal ; chilblains and old sores. 
Blue Ointment. Enlarged glands ; destroys head-lice and other 

body vermin. 
Tar Ointment. Scald head, chronic scaly and scabby skin 

diseases. 
Tannic Acid or Nutgall Ointment. Piles, prolapsus of the 

anus and flabby ulcers. 
Carbolated Cosmoline. Burns, scalds, fetid sores and itching 

surfaces. 
Blistering Ointment. For blistering only. 
Glycerine and Rose Water. Chapped hands and face, sore 

lips, roughness of the skin and sunburn. 
Sulphur Ointment. Cures the itch; useful in chronic skin 

diseases. 



BLOOD PURIFIERS, OR ALTERATIVES. 

Sarsaparilla. Never given alone. Said to be a mild alterative 
when given with other remedies. 

Iodide of Potash. Dose, five to fifteen grains, dissolved, at 
meal time. Chronic diseases, enlargements, humors, venereal 
diseases, etc. 

Cod-Liver Oil. Dose, one to two teaspoonfuls. Scrofula, con- 
sumption, chronic diseases, accompanied by debility, especially 
in children. 

Fowler's Solution of Arsenic Dose, one to three drops. Con- 
sumption, chronic skin diseases, anaemia, scrofula, and nervous 
affections. 

Chloride of Ammonia. Dose, five to fifteen grains. Chronic 
congestion and inflammations of the mucous membranes, torpid 
liver, and catarrhal conditions generally. 

Syrup of Iodide of Iron. Dose, ten to twenty drops ; children, 
two to ten drops, diluted with water. Scrofula, rickets, aneemia, 
debility. 



596 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

Bichloride of Mercury. Dose, one-twentieth to one-eighth 
grain in solution as prescribed. Venereal disorders, scrofula, 
enlargements, and obstinate diseases. 

Fluid Extract Hydrastis. Dose, one-fourth to one teaspoon- 
ful. Malaria, dyspepsia, faulty secretions and catarrhal condi- 
tions. 

Syrup op Iodide of Calcium. Made according to the National 
Formulary. Dose, one teaspoonful in water at meal time. 
Scrofula and scrofulous swellings, old sores, chronic diseases, 
especially of venereal taint. 

Sulphur and Cream of Tartar. Equal parts in small doses in 
molasses. A mild, cooling laxative. Torpid bowels, skin dis- 
eases, humors in the blood, piles and headache. 

Compound Syrup of Hypophosphites. Dose, one teaspoonful at 
meal time. Chronic diseases, scrofula, consumption, general 
debility, nervous disorders. 

Fluid Extract Dandelion. Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful 
three times a day. Torpid liver, biliousness, liver spots on the 
face, malaria, and constipation. 

AYER'S COMPOUND EXTRACT OF SARSAPARILLA. 

Alcohol, 3 ounces 

Fluid extract sarsaparilla, ... 3 ounces 

Fluid extract yellow dock, ... 3 ounces 

Fluid extract stillingia, .... 2 drachms 

Sugar, 1 ounce 

Iodide of potash, 90 grains. 

Mix. Dose, one or two teaspoonfuls three times daily. 

BLOOD PURIFIER. 

The following will be found the equal of any of the Sarsaparil- 
las on the market, and any druggist can compound it : — 

Fluid extract sarsaparilla, ... 1 ounce 
Fluid extract stillingia, .... 1 ounce 
Fluid extract yellow dock, ... 1 ounce 

Podophyllin, 3 grains 

Water, 4 ounces 

Simple elixir, 4 ounces 

Alcohol, 2 ounces 

Glycerine, 2 ounces 

Iodide of potash, 90 grains. 

Mix. From one tea- to one dessertspoonful three 
times a day. 



TONICS AND APPETIZERS. 597 



TONICS AND APPETIZERS. 

Elixir of Pyrophosphate of Iron, Quinine and Strychnine. 
Dose, one-half to one teaspoonful in water, at meals. One of the 
best tonics we have. Anasniia, general debility, loss of appetite, 
neuralgia and malaria. 

Quinine Pills. Dose, one, two and three grains each. General 
weakness, debility, malaria, neuralgia and colds. 

Tincture of Iron. Dose, three to fifteen drops in water, after 
meals. Anamria, loss of appetite, malaria, general debility. 

Quevenne's Iron. Dose, one to three grains in pill form. A 
general tonic in debility, bloodlessness, and neuralgia. 

Blaud's Pills of Iron. Dose, one, at meal time. A very desir- 
able form of taking iron. 

Chamomile Tea. Drank ad libitum. Very useful in loss of 
appetite and during convalescence. 

Infusion of Quassia, Colombo or Gentian are, either, very 
appetizing. A quassia cup will answer the purpose. 

Tincture of Nux Vomica. Dose, one to five drops at meal time, 
in water. Loss of appetite, general debility, constipation, 
dyspepsia. 

Dilute Muriatic Acid. Dose, five to fifteen drops, well diluted. 
Dyspepsia, torpid liver, malaria, fevers, and constipation. 

Compound Syrup of Hypophosphites. Dose, one teaspoonful in 
water. Dyspepsia, scrofula, debility and chronic diseases. 

Cod-Liver Oil. Dose, one or two teaspoonfuls. Consumption, 
scrofula, chronic diseases accompanied by debility. 

Whole Yellow Mustakd Seeds. Dose, one teaspoonful in 
molasses. Dyspepsia, weak stomach, loss of appetite and 
constipation. 

Infusion Wild Cherry Bark. Dose, as required. During con- 
valescence, debility accompanied by cough or nervousness. 

Pepsin Tablets or Liquid Pepsin. Indigestion, heartburn, 
acidity, pains in the stomach, and flatulence. 

Elixir of Eypophosphites with Iron. Dose, one teaspoonful. 
General debility, consumption, scrofula, anaemia, nervous debil- 
ity, mental impairment. 

Elixib Pepsin, Bismuth ^nd Strychnine. Dose, one teaspoonful. 
Exceedingly useful in some Ibrms of dyspepsia, painful diges- 
tion, loss 01 appetite, weak stomach, and nervous dyspepsia. 

Syrup of Eypophosphite of Lime and Soda. Dose, one tea- 
spoonful three times daily. ( reneral debility, scrofula, impaired 
nutrition, and chronic diseases generally. 



598 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

TONIC FOR DYSPEPSIA WITH TORPID LIVER. 

Dilute muriatic acid, 1 drachm 

Tincture nux vomica, .... 30 drops 
Compound infusion gentian, . . 4 ounces. 
Mix. A teaspoonful in water, after meals. 

TONIC FOR DYSPEPSIA. 

Excellent for general debility, loss of appetite, and malaria. 

Sulphate quinine, 16 grains 

Tincture of nux vomica, ... 30 drops 

Dilute muriatic acid, 1 drachm 

Syrup of ginger, 4 ounces. 

Mix. One or two teaspoonfuls in water, after each 
meal. 



DIURETICS OR KIDNEY REMEDIES. 

Sweet Spirits of Nitre. Dose, ten to forty drops every few 

hours. 
Cream of Tartar. One-half teaspoonful in warm water every 

six hours. 
Oil of Juniper. Pour drops on sugar three times a day. 
Powdered Squills. Two grains in pill form every three hours. 
Fluid Extract Buchu. One-half to one teaspoonful in water 

three times a day. 
Fluid Extract Uva Ursi. One teaspoonful in water three 

times a day. 
Citrate of Potash. Thirty to sixty grains in lemonade every 

four hours. 
Water and drinks of all kinds are diuretic. 
"Watermelon Seed Tea. Drank ad libitum. 
Infusion of Dandelion. Four tablespoonfuls three times daily. 
Wild Carrot Seed Tea. Drank ad libitum. 
Hot Sitz Baths and Fomentations. 
Basham's Mixture. Dose one tea- to one tablespoonful three 

times a day. 



WORM MEDICINES — POROUS AND ADHESIVE PLASTERS. 509 



WORM MEDICINES. 

Common Salt. A teaspoonful in water taken in the morning 

will often expel worms ; half as much for children. 
Fluid Extract of Spigelia and Senna. One teaspoonful for a 

child morning and night for two or three days. 
Oil of Chenopodium. Five to ten drops twice a day on sugar, 

followed by cathartic. 
Santonine Lozenges. One or two for a child five years old. 

Directions accompany those sold in packages. 
Worm Confections and Vermifuges, as sold in packages in the 

drug stores, are very convenient, safe, and effectual. 
Elm Bark is said to destroy worms if freely chewed and the 

spittle swallowed. 
Preparations of Iron should be taken in small doses to destroy 

the nests in which the worms multiply. 
Infusion of Quassia. The best remedy for seat-worms. Inject 

one-half pint into the bowel daily. 
Pumpkin Seeds. One or two ounces in sweetened milk best 

remedy for tapeworms. 
All Worm Medicines should be considered poisonous and direc- 
tions should be followed, and cathartics follow their use. 

The following are most excellent — 

WORM POWDERS. 

Santonine, 5 grains 

Calomel, 5 grains 

Sugar of milk, 10 grains. 

Mix. Make ten powders. One morning and night. 



POROUS AND ADHESIVE PLASTERS. 

Belladonna Plasters. Useful for local pains, neuralgia, rheu- 
matism; especially adapted for pains in chest. 

Aconite and Belladonna Plasters. Pains, inflammations, 
soreness, neuralgia and rheumatism. 

Capclne, Capsicum or Red Pepper Plasters. Act as counter- 
irritant. Internal pains, muscular pains and painful affections 
generally. 



600 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

Strengthening Plasters (Allcock's and others). Sprains of 
all kinds, weak back, lumbago, muscular weakness and fatigue. 

Arnica Plasters. Sprains, injuries, internal soreness, muscular 
weakness and chronic tenderness. 

Hop Plasters. Local pains and soreness, inflammatory rheu- 
matism and neuralgia. 

Menthol Plasters. Specially useful in neuralgia and rheu- 
matism, pains in the muscles, backache, stiffness of the muscles. 

Spice Plasters. Highly useful for infants, sick stomach, pains in 
the stomach and bowels, chest pains, bronchitis and local pains 
generally. 

Mustard Plasters. Internal pains, congestions and inflamma- 
tions. Used to draw the blood from the body into the extremi- 
ties in fever and brain troubles ; to the nape of the neck in 
headache ; over the stomach for nausea, vomiting and pain ; 
over the bowels in colic, diarrhoea and dysentery ; over the chest 
in bronchitis, pleurisy and pneumonia, etc. Should not be 
allowed to blister. 

Cantharidal Plasters. Used for blistering only. Internal in- 
flammations, colic, pains in internal organs, brain affections. 
As a rule should not be used unless prescribed. 

Electric Plasters. Where a strong impression is desired. 
Chronic rheumatism, sciatica, neuralgia, paralysis. If kept on 
too long are liable to cause a sore. 



TO DESTROY DISEASE GERMS. 

DISINFECTANTS. 

DEODORIZERS. 

ANTISEPTICS. 

Disinfectants are substances capable of destroying the lower 
forms of life, such as disease germs, micro-organisms, miasms, 
contagious and infectious substances, and of preventing putrefac- 
tion and decomposition. 

In popular language, disinfectants, deodorizers and antiseptics, 
are almost synonymous terms. They are, however, very different 
in their action. 

A disinfectant kills the disease germ. 



TO DESTROY DISEASE GERMS. 601 

Antiseptics are substances, the presence of which renders it 
impossible for the lower forms of life to multiply and subsist. 

Deodorizers are substances which destroy foul odors. 

Antiseptics simply prevent what disinfectants destroy. A sub- 
stance may destroy offensive odors, without acting upon disease 
germs in any way whatever. On the other hand a disinfectant 
may or may not destroy the odor of that upon which it acts. 
A foul smell is, therefore, no indication of the presence of micro- 
organisms which take part in the phenomena of so many 
diseases. 

Disinfection is a matter of extreme importance. Many diseases 
which are not contagious in the ordinary sense become so through 
the medium of impure air and filthy surroundings. We might 
also add that contagious diseases become much more virulent and 
apt to spread, when bad sanitary and hygienic conditions are 
present. 

The habit of throwing the alvine discharges, sputum, vomited 
materials and other excretory substances of the sick room, out on 
the surface of the ground, — where chickens and other fowls may 
devour them, or where the sun will dry them, and where, mixed 
with the dust, they are blown hither and thither by the wind, 
carrying disease, and perhaps death with them, — should be 
abandoned, as such habits are barbaric. Cats and dogs may 
under certain circumstances become carriers of disease. It takes 
an abundance of experience to teach some kinds of lessons, and 
no doubt future research will demonstrate that some dearly 
bought lessons exist along this line. 

In the first place prevention amounts to more than anything 
else. Visiting where contagious diseases are, unless it is a matter 
of necessity, is very unwise. While every one should be ready 
and willing to " visit the sick," yet unless some service can be 
rendered, it is, as a rule, better to remain away. 

Neighborly kindness never demands a breach of common sense 
in order to meet its requirements. 

To understand just how to disinfect a locality, a house, a sick- 
room, or the substances which must necessarily be carried there- 
from, is a matter too little understood. 

The following are the three best disinfectants, and are within 
the reach of all : — 

1. Pure Fresh Air. 

2. Pure Water. 

3. Fire. 

An abundance of pwe, fresh aw ia a powerful disinfectant, and 
it should be admitted to every sick-room. Don't simply open a 



602 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

crack in the door that leads into the hall or another room, but let 
in the fresh, pure air of heaven, from the outside. 

" Wide-open windows and great draughts of fresh, pure air are 
the only proper disinfectants for a close room." Little saucers 
containing chloride of lime or carbolic acid placed about a room 
are not to be depended upon. 

Water is a natural disinfectant, and it should be used liberally 
about the sick-room. Everything should be kept clean and 
sweet. 

Another radical destroyer of disease germs is Fire. All rags, 
paper, plasters, food, pill boxes, sweepings, and other waste from 
the sick-room, should be consumed at once. Clothing and bed 
clothing should be rolled up and transferred immediately to the 
wash boiler, the lid adjusted, and a thorough boiling of the 
contents made. 



DISINFECTING THE DISCHARGES. 

In typhoid fever, cholera, and epidemic dysentery, the dis- 
charges from the bowels should always be disinfected. Tfie disin- 
fecting solution should be added to the vessel or bed-pan before it is 
used, not afterward. 

The following will be found valuable for this purpose : — 

Place eight ounces of pure, fresh Chloride of Lime in a gallon 
jug and fill it with water, and put from a pint to a quart of this 
solution in the vessel before each evacuation. 
Or 

Put two pounds of copperas in a gallon jug and fill with 
water, and use in the same way as the above. 
Or 

Get the druggist to make a solution of corrosive sublimate, one 
part to one thousand (1 to 1000), and use in the same way. This 
solution is a deadly poison if swallowed, and extreme care should 
be used in handling it ; otherwise it is perhaps the best thing 
that can be used. 
Or 

Piatt's Chlorides, Bromo-Chloralum, Solution of Chlorinated 
Soda, and several other preparations answer an excellent pur- 
pose. Bromo-Chloralum and Piatt's Chlorides have the advan- 
tage of being entirely odorless. They are superior articles in the 
sick-room. 
Or 

A five per cent, solution of carbolic acid (about one and one- 
half ounces to the quart) will answer fairly well. About as 



TO DESTROY DISEASE GERMS. 603 

much of the mixture should be used as equals the discharge. 
Carbolic acid is poisonous, and the odor of it is offensive to many 
persons. Discharges from the bowels and kidneys should, after 
disinfection, be thrown into the sewer or buried at least one hun- 
dred feet from any well ; in no instance should they be thrown 
on the surface or be allowed to drain into a flowing stream. 



TO DISINFECT PRIVIES. 

Chloride of lime and copperas are, perhaps, the best two sub- 
stances for this purpose. Either can be used in powder form, but 
the best way is to dissolve them in a gallon jug — two pounds of 
chloride of lime, or three or four pounds of lump copperas to the 
gallon of water — and daily disinfect with the solution. 

A neglected sink or privy well should be treated with a whole 
gallon of the above mixture at once. The jug containing the 
solution of chloride of lime should be kept corked. 



TO DISINFECT A ROOM. 

Calculate the number of cubic feet in the room, and for every 
thousand cubic feet take one and one-half pounds of roll brim- 
stone broken in pieces. Put the brimstone on a plate and the 
plate on a brick in the centre of a tub containing about two inches 
of water. Place the tub in the middle of the room. Then see 
that the room is perfectly air-tight, the windows all down, and if 
clothing is to be disinfected hang it up loosely. Then ignite the 
sulphur — which is easier accomplished if a little alcohol or kero- 
sene is poured over it — and leave the room, as the gas it gives off 
is poisonous. 

Close the door and keep it closed for several hours. The room 
should then be thoroughly ventilated and cleaned. If some 
contagious disease has been in the room previous to the above 
fumigation, the paper should be scraped from the wall, and the 
floors and woodwork thoroughly scrubbed. 

"Sulphur Candles" arc much used for burning purposes. 

Formaldehyde Solution or Formalin as applied by Boards of 
Eealth, is an effective disinfectant, but is not suited for general 
use. Formaldehyde Lamps, suited for one room, are for sale at 
drug stores, and serve a good purpose for genera] \^<\ A thorough 
disinfection Bhould follow all contagious diseases, such as typhoid 
and scarlet fever, diphtheria, .small-pox, tuberculosis, etc. 



604 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 



DEODORIZERS. 

Deodorizers or deodorants are substances which destroy or dis- 
guise foul or fetid odors. 

They may act by disguising or covering up the odor, by 
absorbing the offensive gas, or by acting chemically upon the 
elements of which the fetid substance is composed. 

Disguising the odor of the breath is daily practiced in the use 
of cachous, cardamon seeds, cloves, calamus, lovage root, Canada 
snake root, etc. Spraying sick-rooms with cologne water or 
burning aromatic pastiles in musty parlors is simply covering up 
the odor. 

Charcoal possesses remarkable absorbent properties, and is 
sometimes used in sick-rooms, but its use is confined principally 
to tooth powders, and as an ingredient of poultices for foul ulcers 
and sores. 

Chlorine in some form is the best chemical deodorant, and 
enters into the composition of most all articles sold for this pur- 
pose. Bromo-Chloralum, Piatt's Chlorides, and Labarraque's Solu- 
tion (Solution of Chlorinated Soda), are all valuable preparations 
for the sick-room, and should be used whenever there is need of 
such articles. 

Full directions in regard to their use accompany each bottle. 
I have sold these preparations for years, and they give universal 
satisfaction. 

Chloride of lime solution — four ounces to one gallon of water — 
makes a cheap and effectual preparation of chlorine. 

Permanganate of potash, a highly colored substance, is an 
active deodorant, but is not suited for general purposes. 

Burning lavender flowers will disguise the odor of a room. Or 
if no more agreeable substance is at hand, burning coffee or a 
small rag upon the stove may be resorted to in order to disguise 
a foul odor. 

ANTISEPTICS. 

Antiseptics are substances capable of preventing putrefactive 
changes in the tissues of the body, by prohibiting the generation 
of micro-organisms or the formation of unhealthy conditions. 
In short, antiseptics are medicines or other substances applied to 
wounds, sores, open inflammatory surfaces, etc., to keep the parts 
healthy. Common salt acts as an antiseptic in preserving meat. 
Dried beef and hams are partly preserved on account of the 
creasote the smoke contains with which they are saturated. 



TO DESTROY INSECTS. 605 

In the same way solutions of carbolic acid and corrosive sub- 
limate prevent unhealthy action in the living tissues, and thus 
favor the rapid and complete healing of severed parts. 

The use of antiseptics has greatly aided in advancing the art 
of surgery, and what is known as the " Antiseptic Treatment " 
is recognized as an essential part of surgical practice. It consists 
in subjecting the atmosphere, the hands and instruments of the 
surgeon, the sponges, applications, and bandages, to such a cleans- 
ing that all germs are killed. 

A great many substances possess antiseptic powers. 

Corrosive sublimate solutions are used more than anything else 
by physicians. It is such a deadly poison, however, that it is 
unfit for unprofessional hands. 

Corrosive sublimate in tablet form is used by physicians. Each 
tablet contains 7^ grains of corrosive sublimate (enough to kill 
several persons if swallowed), which, added to one quart of water, 
makes a 1 to 2000 solution. This solution is a powerful poison 
to the lower forms of life. While this agent is unfit for popular 
use, a knowledge of it demonstrates the importance of being 
careful even with washes. 

Carbolic acid has been much employed as an antiseptic, but 
has fallen somewhat into disuse. Alcohol, iodoform, iodine, 
boracic acid, salicylic acid, thymol, turpentine, chloride of zinc, 
tar, oil of eucalyptus, and all the volatile oils possess antiseptic 
qualities. 

Peroxide of Hydrogen possesses marked antiseptic properties. 

Creoline, Cresol, Lysol and coal tar antiseptics under other 
names are found in all drug stores. Explicit directions for use 
are usually found upon the labels. Every well-informed druggist 
can give the desired information regarding the use of antiseptics. 



TO DESTROY INSECTS. 

Living parasites of various kinds torment the human race. 
They infest vegetation, domestic animals, the human body, and 
the home. Their prevention and destruction is a matter of no 
little importance. 

ANTS. 

Ants are often an annoyance in cellars, milk houses, pantries, 
and dark, damp places. They are a nuisance from their inordi- 
nate faculty of getting into thmgs. They are attracted by almost 



C06 MEDICINES AND REMEDIAL COMPOUNDS. 

everything in the house, from sugar to shoe-polish and from bath 
sponges to dead cockroaches. They form their nests in almost 
any secluded spot between the walls, or under the floors, or 
behind the base-boards, or among the trash in some old box or 
trunk, or in the garden walk just outside the door. 

The first thing to be done is to find the point from which they 
all come. When their nests are outside it is easy to destroy them 
with kerosene. If the nest is in the wall or under the floor, find 
the nearest accessible point and kill them as they appear. Ants 
are quite susceptible to the action of Insect Powder, and if it be 
freely and persistently used will destroy them. 

Bisulphide of Carbon, a very volatile liquid, is very destructive 
to them. Quick-lime thrown on their nests and then watered 
will destroy them. A strong solution of alum is said to kill them 
when thrown into places which they frequent. Powdered Borax is 
more used than anything else to destroy them, and it should be 
freely sprinkled on the ground, floors, or shelves where they fre- 
quent. It is one of the least objectionable articles which it is 
possible to use. 

Gas Tar painted around a tree will prevent ants from climbing 
it. 

BED-BUGS. 

These pests are often extremely difficult to eradicate. They 
will sometimes multiply to an enormous extent when a furnished 
house is vacated. The easiest way is to avoid them altogether by 
carefully using preventive measures against them. All cracks 
and crevices about bedsteads, floors, and walls should be closed. 

The following, although a deadly poison if swallowed, is a very 
thorough eradicator of these insects. I have compound 3d and 
sold it for years, and it has given universal satisfaction : — 

BED-BUG POISON. 

Corrosive sublimate, .... 30 grains 

Oil of turpentine, 2 drachms 

Gum camphor, 1 drachm 

Alcohol to make 8 ounces. 

Mix and dissolve. Poison. For bed-bugs. 

It should be applied with a small brush or feather and kept out 
of the reach of children. 

Turpentine freely applied will be found very effectual in killing 
and preventing bed-bugs. Benzine, finely sprayed with a hand 



TO DESTROY INSECTS. 607 

atomizer, will penetrate the minutest cracks and is sure death to 
both the insect and its eggs. Gasoline and kerosene are both 
very destructive to bed-bugs. It is said that ants will kill 
bed-bugs and that the latter are never found where ants are 
numerous. 



COCKROACHES. 

These insects frequent dark, damp places, and much can be 
done to prevent them by keeping cellars and drains dry and free 
from rubbish. 

Borax freely sprinkled in the places they frequent is a popular 
article for their extermination. 
Or 

Phosphorus Paste is perhaps the most destructive substance that 
can be emploved. It can be procured at any drug store. 
Or 

Red Lead made into a paste with flour and brown sugar, and 
placed on cards in localities where roaches frequent at night, is 
said to destroy them. 
Or 

Wheat flour, 2 ounces 

Powdered borax, 1 ounce 

Powdered sugar, 4 ounces 

Unslacked lime, 1 ounce. 

Mix thoroughly, keep dry, and place on papers about 
infested localities, keeping it away from food. 



FLEAS. 

Fleas are exceedingly exasperating to some persons, while others 
experience no annoyance whatever from them. As they often 
come one at a time, it is impossible to do otherwise than to make 
an individual hunt for each flea. They have a fashion of biting 
as they jump, and are very hard to catch except as chased by 
an expert. 

Dogs and cats are often the source of fleas. If so, they should 
be thoroughly saturated every day or two with the following mix- 
ture until it has been used three or four times : — 

Sulphuret of potash, 1 ounce 

Water, 1 quart. 

Mix. Flea wash. 



008 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

Or 

One ounce of benzine or one ounce of carbolic acid, shaken up 
with one pint of water, may be used to wash animals infested 
with fleas. 

Dalmatian Insect Powder is an excellent preventive of fleas on 
animals. The animal should be placed in a tight bag or box, 
with a chance to breathe only, and the powder liberally and 
thoroughly rubbed into the hair. After a half hour or hour, it 
should be thoroughly washed with water, and the kennel should 
be treated to the same measures. 

It is said that those who are annoyed with fleas can keep them 
away by placing gum camphor in wardrobes and trunks con- 
taining their underclothing, in such quantity as will give each 
garment a perceptible odor of the drug. This mode is said to be 
effective, and it is surely harmless and easily tried. 

Chamomile flowers or pennyroyal herb placed in rooms are 
said to drive away fleas. 

The following forms a good 

FLEA WATER. 

Oil of cloves, 2| drachms 

Carbolic acid, |- drachm 

Cologne, 3 drachms 

Dilute alcohol, 2 ounces. 

Mix. Sprinkle beds, bedding, etc., wherever fleas are 
found. 

FLIES. 

Flies are a great annoyance during the heated season, and 
many devices are employed to eradicate them. 

Pure, fresh Dalmatian Insect Powder is unquestionably the most 
thorough fly destroyer we have found. It must be used properly, 
however, to prove effectual. 

To kill the flies in a store, kitchen, or other room, all the doors 
and windows must be closed ; very early in the morning is the 
best time, and with a powder gun the powder must be blown into 
the air until the atmosphere is saturated with the odor. The 
room must remain perfectly tight for at least half an hour, when, 
with brush and broom, all flies must be swept up and destroyed. 
If the powder is fresh and good, and the work is well done, 
scarcely a fly will remain. If the room is not kept air tight it 
will fail to kill the flies, and if air is admitted too soon the stupe- 
fied insects will "come to" and regain their former activity. 



TO DESTROY INSECTS. 609 

Insect Powder should be purchased in boxes or bottles, as that 

sold in bulk is very apt to be impaired in strength. 

Or 

Poison Fly Paper is porous paper which has been soaked in a 
solution of arsenic or cobalt and dried. When used molasses or 
sugar should be placed in the water to attract the flies. 
Or 

Powdered Cobalt may be used by being placed in a plate with 
sweetened water, the same as fly paper, but it is a dangerous pro- 
cedure, and the paper is to be preferred. 
Or 

Quassia infusion is very poisonous to flies, and has the advan- 
tage of being perfectly harmless to man. The following is the 
proper way to prepare — 

QUASSIA FLY POISON. 

Rasped quassia, J ounce 

Boiling water, 1 quart. 

Boil a few minutes, strain, and add molasses, one-hal* 

pint. 
Display in windows, etc., in plates. 
Or 

The following is dangerous to flies only : — 

Black pepper, 1 ounce 

Sugar, 1 ounce 

Cream, 2 ounces. 

Mix into a thin paste and place wherever flies gather 



JIGGERS OR CHIQUE. 

These little pests are found in summer seasons in woody sec- 
tions. They fasten themselves into the skin, causing pain, intense? 
itching, and irritation. 

Salt water freely applied and rubbed in is the best remedy 
If available, a salt sea-bath will completely eradicate them. 

Olive oil is destructive of this insect, and it also relieves the 
irritation. 

LICE. 

Head Lice, or Pediculosis Capitis, are most commonly met with 
upon the heads of school children, street urchins, and slovenly 



610 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

persons with thick hair. Under the microscope they are hideous 
monsters with big eyes and enormous claws. Their eggs, com- 
monly called " Nits" are remarkably large and are found firmly 
glued to the hairs. They hatch in about five or six days. It is 
said that a full grown female louse may have five thousand 
descendants in eight weeks. 

Treatment. — Blue Ointment and Red Precipitate Ointment are 
both in common use, and either will prove satisfactory. These 
should be used somewhat sparingly, but thoroughly rubbed in at 
those points where the insects harbor. 
Or 

The following may be used instead of the above : — 

TO DESTROY LICE. 

Citrine ointment, 2 drachms 

Prepared lard, 2 drachms. 

Mix. Thoroughly rub into the roots of the hair every 
second day. 
Or 

An ointment may be made by boiling two drachms of staves- 
acre seeds in one ounce of lard and straining while hot. It should 
be used the same as the mercurial ointments ; it has the disad- 
vantage of being poisonous. 

The custom of using a solution of Fish Berries or stavesacre 
seeds in alcohol is not free from danger, and serious results have 
followed such use. 

It is a fact worthy of note that all insects, including lice, are 
quickly destroyed by oils, either fixed or volatile, and it is claimed 
by some good authorities that it is the fat and not the mercury in 
blue ointment that kills the insects. If this be true, a good oiling 
of the hair would answer every purpose. 

Kerosene will effectually eradicate lice and kill the nits, when 
applied to the head, and it is harmless. 

Alcohol is also destructive to them. But no matter what 
remedy is selected, it must be continued until every opportunity 
for the insects to propagate has vanished. 

Nits can be best removed from the hair by combing the hair 
with a fine comb kept moist by dipping it in vinegar. 

Body Lice, also known as Crab Lice, Gray Backs, etc., some- 
times abound where humanity revels in filth, and from thence 
they occasionally find their way into more respectable quarters. 

When they infest the body, the clothes should be thoroughly 
boiled and the surface of the body scoured with hot water and 



TO DESTROY INSECTS. 611 

carbolic soap. Blue ointment may be applied at the selective 

points, as at the bend of the elbow and in other places. Diligent 
measures should be continued for a long time. 



MOSQUITOES. 

Mosquitoes are found almost everywhere during summer, but 
are most numerous in damp and marshy localities. 

Many remedies have been proposed to "keep off" mosquitoes, 
but I have but little faith in anything so far discovered. Smoke 
is used in rural districts and proves very effectual. 

Oil of Pennyroyal has been largely used, but while it is unques- 
tionably obnoxious to them, its effect soon vanishes. It is best 
applied in the form of the essence. 

Spirits of Camphor is used, not only to keep them off, but to 
allay the irritation caused by their bites. I am fully convinced 
it is among our best remedies for both these purposes. To serve 
this double purpose I have for years compounded and sold the 
following ; — ■ 

MOSQUITO LOTION. 

Soap liniment, 1| ounces 

Carbolic acid, 6 drops 

Spirits of camphor, 2 drachms 

Aqua ammonia, | drachm 

Oil of pennyroyal, J drachm. 

Mix. Apply to hands and face to prevent and cure 
mosquito bites. 

The irritation caused by the bites of mosquitoes and other 
poisonous insects is relieved by the application of dilute aqua 
ammonia, spirits of camphor, paregoric, or sweet spirits of nitre. 

It is claimed that a little lather of soap allowed to dry over a 
mosquito bite will prevent the pain and burning. 



MOTHS. 

There are several varieties of these pests. They are very de- 
structive to fur and woolen clothing, furniture, and carpets, 
especially during the summer months. All woolen and fur goods 
should be well aired in the spring and put away in tight chests 
or securely sealed in paper bags, or Hay should be rendered 
secure from moths by some anti-moth material. 

Gum Camphor is more used than anything else to prevent 



612 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

moths. It is very effectual, its odor is not particularly objec- 
tionable, and it soon evaporates when clothing is exposed to the 
air. It should be placed in trunks, bureau drawers, or elsewhere 
where clothing is kept. Coal Tar Camphor, or Naphthaline, occur- 
ring in white flakes, round sticks, balls, or squares, is an effectual 
preventive, but its odor is very offensive to some persons, and on 
this account is decidedly objectionable. Tar Paper is used by 
many and answers a good purpose. Perhaps the best remedy of 
all is the large bags and sheets of tar paper for sale at all drug 
stores. Clothing tied up in this paper is entirely safe from moths, 
and when opened it is almost entirely free from unpleasant odor. 
Dalmatian Insect Powder is an effectual preventive, but it has the 
objection of making a dust. To remove moths from carpet, place 
a wet sheet over it and iron dry with a hot iron. Turpentine, 
Benzine, or Insect Powder sprinkled under or around the edges 
of carpets will usually destroy them. When they get into uphol- 
stered furniture it is generally best to have it taken to pieces, 
fumigated, and replaced. Moths will often attack one chair or a 
sofa and not infest other furniture in the same room. 



TREATMENT OF POISONS. 

Poisonous substances are universally employed in the arts and 
sciences, in manufacture and in medicine, so that their use has 
become an every-day occurrence, and it is a matter of surprise 
that poisoning is not more frequent. 

Books on the subject make various divisions of toxic sub- 
stances ; according to their nature, into mineral, vegetable, etc. ; 
according to their effects, into narcotic, spinal, irritant, cardiac, 
corrosive, etc. 

There is a variety of conditions that resemble poisoning so 
closely that it is difficult to decide what agents to class as poi- 
sons. 

A good definition of the term is as follows : — 

" A poison is a substance which, when absorbed into the blood, is 
capable of seriously affecting health or of destroying life." 

The treatment of poisoning is limited in this connection to those 
acute cases calling for immediate attention. Cases of chronic 
poisoning, as from lead or phosphorus, are looked upon and 



TREATMENT OF POISONS. 613 

treated as diseases, their action having resulted in pathological, 
morbid conditions, which largely dictate the course of treatment. 

When a person is poisoned it is of the utmost importance 
to know just what to do at the time. Life often depends on doing 
the right thing and doing it quickly. Valuable efforts are often 
frustrated by excitement and fright. 

As a rule, when a person has swallowed a poison he should 
be made to vomit as quickly as possible by giving a teaspoonful 
of powdered mustard or a tablespoonful of common salt stirred 
in a tumbler of warm water, repeated in ten or fifteen minutes if 
the first dose fails to act. Tickling the throat with the finger or 
a feather is a rapid and effectual way of producing vomiting. 
Drinking warm water always favors the action. 

An endeavor should always be made to ascertain the nature of 
the poison swallowed, as a knowledge of this will assist in adopting 
radical measures for relief. 

When the poison is unknown, the treatment must be conducted 
on general principles. 

If the patient vomits, the action must be promoted by free 
draughts of tepid water. 

If he is inclined to sleep, he must be kept awake. 

If he is faint, he must lie down and take stimulants. 

If the extremities are cold, heat must be applied. 

After the stomach is emptied, bland drinks, such as starch or 
gruel, should be given. It is always safe, and apt to be beneficial, 
to give powdered charcoal and calcined magnesia, either alone or 
mixed. A physician should always be sent for. 



ACIDS. 

NITRIC ACID, or Aqua Fortis, SULPHURIC ACID, or Oil of 
Vitriol, and MURIATIC ACID, or Spirits of Salts, 

are sometimes swallowed by mistake. 

Symptoms. — Severe burning pain in mouth, throat, and stomach, 
followed by inflammation, great thirst, and sometimes by purging 
of blood. 

Treatment. — Some alkali, the nearest one, should be given — bicar- 
bonate of soda, chalk, magnesia, soap and water, white-wash 
scraped from the walls, or the plaster itself powdered and washed 
down with water, egg shells, whiting, ashes, slacked lime, or lime 
water. Warm water should be freely drank, and the alkalies 
continued until the acid is neutralized; after which milk, the 
whites of eggs, and oil Bhould be taken. 



614 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



ACONITE. 



One-half teaspoonful of tincture of aconite may prove fatal. It 
is often put in liniments, and care should be exercised that lini- 
ments are not given by mistake in place of the intended medicine. 

Symptoms. — Numbness of the mouth and throat, tingling, prick- 
ing, and numbness of the skin, irritation of the heart, great weak- 
ness, difficult breathing, slow, weak pulse, prostration. 

Treatment. — One teaspoonful of powdered mustard in a teacupful 
of warm water; repeat in ten minutes if vomiting does not result. 
Large draughts of warm water should be drank. If no mustard 
is at hand, a tablespoonful of common salt in a cup of warm 
water may be taken instead. Strong black tea, decoction of oak 
bark, or, better than either, tannin should be taken. Milk or 
sweet oil will be useful. Teaspoonful doses of powdered charcoal 
in water should be drank. The limbs should be briskly rubbed 
and heat applied to the hands and feet. The patient should lie 
down, and not undertake to sit up at all until the danger is 
passed. 

ALCOHOL. 

Poisoning by alcohol is very frequent. A person when pro- 
foundly intoxicated is poisoned, but medical interference is 
seldom instituted. 

Treatment. — An emetic of mustard or salt may be given ; cold 
water poured on the head and aromatic spirits of ammonia 
internally will have a tendency to remove the effects of alcohol. 
Vinegar in tablespoonful doses, frequently repeated, is a domestic 
remedy of considerable value. 

AMMONIA. 

Strong alkalies of all kinds are poisonous when swallowed. 
The ordinary aqua ammonia for household purposes is extremely 
poisonous, and it is a wonder that more accidents do not occur in 
its use. 

The symptoms are extreme pain and burning as far as the poison 
reaches. 

Treatment. — Give vinegar immediately and in sufficient quanti- 
ties to neutralize the ammonia. Lemon-juice will answer the 
purpose, but vinegar is to be preferred, because it is generally 
within reach. It should be followed by olive oil, or, if this is not 
at hand, fresh milk should be freely drank. 



TKEATMENT OF POISONS. 615 



ARSENIC, FOWLER'S SOLUTION, "ROUGH ON RATS," PARIS 
GREEN, SCHEELE'S GREEN, POISON FLY PAPER. 

Arsenic is more frequently employed with suicidal and criminal 
intent than any other poison, yet in using it cruelty is added to 
the crime, as intense suffering attends its action. It enters into 
commerce so largely that cases of poisoning from it are quite 
common. It enters into the manufacture of glass, wall paper, 
and coloring materials. 

Symptoms. — Shortly after taking it, there is a burning pain in 
the stomach, faintness, thirst, pain in the throat, violent vomiting, 
pains in the bowels, with purging of offensive, bloody stools. The 
urine is scanty, dark, and bloody ; pulse feeble and rapid ; the 
features shrunken ; there is headache, coldness, prostration, loss 
of consciousness, and collapse. Death may occur after a very few 
hours, or the patient may live for weeks. 

Treatment. — Unless vomiting has taken place, it should be pro- 
voked by tickling the throat; teaspoonful doses of mustard in 
warm water, or mustard, salt, and warm water freely drank. 
After the above, large doses of magnesia or chalk should be swal- 
lowed ; sugar and linseed oil, chalk, or sweet oil should be freely 
drank. Equal parts of lime-water and oil may be used instead. 

Get at the drug store four ounces of Dialyzed Iron and take a 
tablespoonful every fifteen minutes. 

The above preparation of iron and the sesquioxide of iron are 
antidotes for arsenical poisoning, and one or the other should 
always be used. These should not be depended upon entirely, 
but every means should be used to get rid of and prevent the 
action of the poison. A physician should always be called. 



BELLADONNA, or Deadly Nightshade, 

is a deadly poison. All parts of the plant are poisonous, the 
berries being the most likely part to be swallowed. The drug, 
however, enters so largely into medical practice in liniments, 
ointments, and internal remedies, that it is occasionally swallowed 
by mistake. 

Symptom*. — The most characteristic symptom is dilation of 
the pupil of the eye. Jt always has this effect. The mucous 
membrane of the nose, mouth, and throat becomes exceedingly 
dry, and the flow of urine becomes profuse; redness of the skin, 
rapid pulse, and cold extremities follow. 

Treatment. — Always empty the stomach, if possible, by tickling 



616 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

the throat ; give teaspoonful doses of powdered mustard, or table- 
spoonful doses of common salt in warm water, after which cold 
water may be thrown on the head. As opium is a physiological 
antidote, ten drops of laudanum may be given to an adult every 
fifteen minutes for two hours. Hot, strong coffee and stimulants 
internally, and mustard plasters and heat externally, may be 
necessary. The patient should be kept in the recumbent posi- 
tion. 

CARBOLIC ACID and CREASOTE 

are both poisons in large doses. They should be kept out of the 
reach of children, and always marked " poison." Carbolic acid 
has been known to cause death in a few minutes. 

Symptoms. — Severe pains in the throat and stomach, dizziness, 
and convulsions. 

Treatment. — Drink large quantities of olive oil, castor oil, or 
warm lard. Drink sweet milk in abundance, or warm butter 
may be drank. 

HYDRATE OF CHLORAL 

is a poison. It is claimed that when it is taken as a medicine it 
is sometimes transformed into chloroform in the blood, and the 
chloroform thus formed poisons the patient. 

Symptoms. — The sleep is heavy, the face livid and bloated, the 
pulse weak. Sometimes death from chloral is very sudden. 

Treatment. — Consists of administering an emetic and giving 
strong coffee or tea, dashing cold water on the chest, slapping the 
patient briskly. 

Electricity has been used with success. 



COPPER, BLUE VITRIOL, SULPHATE OF COPPER, VERDIGRIS. 

The most common form of copper poisoning results from 
eating food cooked in copper vessels, or drinking soda water 
from fountains that are old, or have been out of use for some 
time. 

Symptoms. — Coppery taste in the mouth, tongue dry and 
pointed, painful colic, violent vomiting and purging. 

Treatment, — As this poison acts rapidly, remedies must be 
quickly applied. Milk and eggs should be swallowed in abund- 
ance. Do not take time to separate the white and yolk, but break 
them into a bowl with a little water or milk, stir and drink one 



TREATMENT OF POISONS. 617 

after another. Soap may be given, also half teaspoonful doses of 
bicarbonate of soda every five or ten minutes. Do not give any 
vinegar. 



CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE, or Bichloride of Mercury, 

is a most dangerous poison. As it is found in most all liquid " bed- 
bug poisons," and is being much used as a germicide by physicians, 
in dressings, washes, and during surgical and other operations, it 
is in a way to do much mischief. Physicians are not as careful 
as they should be in the use of this drug. Corrosive Sublimate 
is one of the most dangerous drugs to be found in a drug store. 
It is dangerous to health, and should never be manipulated by 
any person but the druggist. In my library is a standard work, 
in which, to compound a mixture for killing bed-bugs, instruc- 
tions are given to " powder two ounces of corrosive sublimate " — 
an exceedingly dangerous procedure — with no intimation of its 
poisonous nature. It is a singular fact that eating acids or com- 
mon salt after a dose of calomel, may form corrosive sublimate in 
the stomach. 

Symptoms. — Burning pain in throat and stomach, metallic 
taste in the mouth, and offensive breath, violent vomiting, 
abdominal pain, and purging. 

Treatment. — Empty the stomach, if free vomiting has not 
already taken place, by irritating the throat with the finger ; if 
this fails, ground mustard, a teaspoonful in large draughts of warm 
water, should be repeated — afterward raw eggs should be eaten, 
the more the better ; follow this by flour, stirred up in water, or, 
what is better, warm milk, which may be drank in large quanti- 
ties. 

DIGITALIS, or Foxglove. 

Although rare, poisoning may occur from swallowing this drug. 

Symptoms. — Vomiting, pain in bowels, purging of green matter, 
pulse irregular, great depression, dimness of vision. 

Treatment. — An emetic should be given, unless vomiting has 
already occurred ; tannin, strong tea, or strong coffee should be 
freely drank. Stimulants are sometimes given. The patient 
should lie down and not be allowed to sit up at all. 



618 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



TINCTURE OF IODINE AND IODIDE OF POTASH 

are poisonous in large doses. The treatment consists of swallowing 
large quantities of starch, followed by an emetic. 



LEAD, SUGAR OF LEAD, WHITE AND RED LEAD. 

Acute poisoning from an overdose of lead is rare. 

Symptoms. — Vomiting, generally of a milky white substance, 
pain in the stomach and bowels, great thirst, constipation, 
hiccough, cramps, slow pulse, pale face, and prostration. 

Treatment. — The stomach should be emptied and Epsom or 
Glauber salts freely administered with drinks acidulated with 
sulphuric acid. 



LUNAR CAUSTIC, or Nitrate of Silver. 

A piece of caustic may fall into the throat and be swallowed 
while the throat is being touched with it, or a solution of the drug 
may be swallowed by mistake. 

Symptoms. — These may be confined to the stomach as pain and 
a vomit, which is at first white, but turns black, or it may produce 
cerebral symptoms, as vertigo, convulsions, disturbed breathing, 
and prostration. 

Treatment consists of giving, at once, large amounts of common 
salt. This is a genuine antidote. Milk should also be drank in 
large quantities. 



OPIUM, LAUDANUM, MORPHIA, PAREGORIC, GODFREY'S 
CORDIAL, BATEMAN'S DROPS, AND SOOTHING SYRUP, 

furnish a large portion of the cases of poison, both accidental 
and criminal. A teaspoonful of laudanum, or one grain of mor- 
phia, are exceedingly dangerous amounts. Children and very 
aged people are very susceptible to the effects of opium, and are 
easily poisoned by it. Two drops of laudanum have been known 
to kill an infant. 

Symptoms. — Sometimes a short period of excitement follows a 
poisonous dose of opium ; this, however, is not always the case. 
If the dose is large, stupor comes on almost at once, drowsiness, 
giddiness, and a strong tendency to sleep ; the eyes are closed ; at 
first the sleep seems to be natural, but becomes difficult ; pulse, at 
first, small and quick, and then slow. The pupils contracted ; 



TREATMENT OF POISONS. 619 

this symptom being characteristic of opium poisoning. All the 
secretions are locked up, except that of the skin, which is in- 
creased. When death takes place, it is usually within from six 
to twelve hours after taking the poison. 

Treatment. — Lose no time in emptying the stomach. Sulphate 
of zinc is the best emetic, ten or fifteen grains, repeated in ten 
minutes, or a teaspoonful of powdered mustard, or a tablespoon- 
ful of common salt in warm water should be given, and repeated, 
whether vomiting occurs or not. The greatest gain will be made 
in emptying the stomach as quickly as possible. A physician 
should be immediately sent for, and he should be informed of the 
nature of the case. This will enable him to come prepared to 
render the best possible service. 

After the emetic, twenty drops of tincture of belladonna should 
be given every half hour until the pupils begin to dilate. Bella- 
donna is a physiological antidote for opium, and should always 
be given. The patient should be kept awake by forcing him to 
walk between two persons, throwing cold water in his face or on 
his head, and slapping him with a cold, wet towel. In desperate 
cases do not hesitate to inflict pain to keep the patient aroused. 
Strong coffee and tea should be given. Much benefit may be ob- 
tained by the use of electricity in opium poisoning. Mustard 
plasters should be applied to the calves of the legs. If recovery 
seems hopeless, artificial respiration should be resorted to, and no 
effort spared, as hopeless cases are sometimes restored by diligent 
persistence. 

OXALIC ACID, 

formerly known as " lemon salts," is a powerful poison in large 
doses. It resembles Epsom Salts so closely that it has frequently 
been given when salts were intended. 

Symptoms. — A hot, sour, burning taste in the throat and 
stomach, vomiting, generally within a few minutes, sometimes 
mixed with blond; headache, extreme debility, and clammy per- 
spiration. Death may occur in a few minutes, or it may not 
result for days. One drachm of the acid lias caused death. 

Treatment,. — Care and judgment should be exercised in treating 
oxalic acid poisoning. Lime and chalk are the best remedies. 
One or the other should be given qwwkkj and freely, mixed with 
water or oil. Lime-water will answer. Use no soda or ammonia. 
Plaster may be scraped from the wall, powdered, and given. Do 
not wait for the doctor to come, but use these remedies im- 
mediately. 



620 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 



PHOSPHORUS 



poisoning may occur from eating lucifer matches. 

Symptoms. — Violent pain in throat and stomach, vomiting and 
purging, coldness and prostration. 

Treatment. — First give an emetic, the more active the better ; 
mustard in water, or, what is better, three to five grains of blue 
vitriol dissolved in water. Drink freely of warm water with 
magnesia, charcoal, chalk, whiting, or flour. No oil of any kind 
should be given. 



PRUSSIC ACID AND CYANIDE OF POTASH 

are perhaps the most rapid and deadly poisons in the whole list 
of toxic drugs. They should never be used by inexperienced 
persons, and not even handled, because the vapor coming from 
them may cause faintness, prostration, and perhaps death. 

Symptoms. — Sudden and extreme prostration, when large doses 
are taken. Symptoms of poisoning are said to begin during the 
act of swallowing the drug, and almost always within one or two 
minutes, ending life in fifteen minutes or less. 

Treatment. — Dash cold water in the face and on the chest, and 
then use hot water; thus by alternation keep up a powerful stim- 
ulation. Ammonia dropped on a handkerchief may be held to 
the nostrils, and stimulants administered. 



STRAMONIUM OR JIMSEN WEED SEEDS 

are sometimes swallowed by children. They are extremely 
poisonous. 

The symptoms and treatment are practically the same as in the 
case of Belladonna, and the same measures should be adopted. 



STRYCHNIA AND TINCTURE OF NUX VOMICA 

are extremely poisonous. They are valuable medicines, but 
extreme care must be exercised in their use. One-half grain 
of strychnia has been known to kill a man. 

Symptoms. — The first symptoms are restlessness, followed by 
spasmodic twitching or jerking of the muscles, which develops 
into spasmodic stiffening of the muscles of the whole body. 
The patient will stiffen from head to foot, and the paroxysms will 



TREATMENT OF POISONS. 621 

be severe and follow each other in succession, according to the 
size of the dose of poison swallowed. Death may take place in a 
few minutes ; generally in two or three hours. The patient is 
greatly affected by the least draft of air or excitement. 

Treatment. — Emetics should be immediately given and the 
throat tickled to induce vomiting. Give a teaspoonful of pow- 
dered mustard or a tablespoonful of common salt in warm water. 
If the poison has made this impossible, the patient should be 
placed in a dark room, without a light, or but little ; not a parti- 
cle of draft should be allowed, and no talking, not even whisper- 
ing. A person who is poisoned by strychnia becomes intensely 
nervous, and the least current of air on the face, the most insig- 
nificant noise, or excitement of any kind is apt to bring on a 
paroxysm. Perfect quiet and repose are imperative. A physician 
should be summoned, but if the case is urgent do not wait for 
him. If any chloroform is at hand, give a half-teaspoonful in 
water every fifteen minutes until three or four doses have been 
taken, or it may be administered by inhalation. In the hands 
of the physician, chloroform is one of the best remedies. Two 
teaspoonfuls of elixir of chloral may be given every fifteen 
minutes until several doses have been taken. Artificial respira- 
tion should be resorted to, and continued as necessary. 



TARTAR EMETIC, Wine of Antimony and Coxe's Hive Syrup 
are sometimes taken in poisonous doses. Infants and aged persons 
bear tartar emetic badly, and many cases of poisoning which 
have escaped notice have occurred, no doubt, from using the above 
articles. It is a treacherous drug. Less than a grain has been 
known to kill a child, and less than four grains has killed an adult. 

Symptoms. — Violent and persistent vomiting, cramping pains, 
thirst, faintness, purging of watery discharges, coldness of the 
skin, clammy perspiration and prostration. 

Treatment. — The vomiting, which is always a symptom, should 
be encouraged by drinking tepid water freely, with milk and 
other diluents. Strong green tea, coffee, or anything containing 
tannin, such as oak bark, or, best of all, tannin itself should be 
given. If the extremities become cold, heat should be applied. 

TOBACCO 

is a deadly poison. Swallowing thirty grains lias produced death 
in less than an hour. The author is thoroughly convinced that 
its use in any form is always productive of injury. 



622 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

Symptoms. — Faintness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, delirium, 
loss of power in the limbs, relaxation of the muscles, trembling, 
complete prostration, coldness of the surface of the body, cold 
clammy perspiration, paralysis and death by fainting. The pupil 
is dilated, the eye is dim, the mind confused, the pulse faint and 
the breathing difficult. 

Treatment. — Unless vomiting has taken place, an emetic should 
be given, the patient kept in the recumbent position and small 
doses of aromatic spirits of ammonia administered if the case is 
serious. Strong tea or anything containing tannin may be given. 



SULPHATE OF ZINC OR WHITE VITRIOL 

is sometimes accidentally swallowed in overdoses. It resembles 
Epsom Salts very much in appearance, and has been occasionally 
taken for that well-known cathartic. 

Symptoms. — An overdose will produce pain in the abdomen ; 
violent vomiting, coming on quickly ; copious purging and great 
prostration of strength. It seldom proves fatal, as its emetic 
properties cause it to be speedily ejected from the stomach. 

Treatment. — Tepid water, with milk, freely drank to promote 
vomiting ; tannin or oak bark tea. If there is pain in the bowels 
an injection should be administered. 



TOILET ARTICLES. 

HANDKERCHIEF EXTRACTS, COLOGNES, ETC. 

Colognes, Handkerchief Extracts, Toilet Waters, Sachet Powders, 
and Perfumery generally, are best when bought from the drug- 
gist, already made. 

Sometimes persons try to make these articles themselves by 
purchasing the ingredients and mixing them at home; while 
others will request their druggist to compound long receipts, and 
he is obliged to make, in a few minutes, what requires days, or 
perhaps weeks, to do in the proper way. 

Every wide-awake, competent druggist, keeps on hand a line 
of manufactured Extracts, which he has bought ready made 
because they are superior to any he can make unless he is fitted 
vp for the business- He generally makes his own stock of toilet 



TOILET ARTICLES. 623 

waters and colognes, and from much experience I am prepared to 
say that the articles of this kind made by the druggist are 
superior to those sold in sealed packages. It requires time, how- 
ever, to manufacture these articles, and those mixed extempora- 
neously from formulas in no way compare with such as the 
pharmacist has prepared according to the most approved methods. 
When he endeavors to sell an article of his own make, instead of 
filling a receipt which was perhaps cut from a newspaper, don't 
suspect his motives, but appreciate his efforts to furnish a superior 
article. 

PRESTON SMELLING SALTS. 

Crushed carbonate of ammonia, | ounce 

Oil rose, 1 drop 

Oil lemon, 5 drops 

Oil lavender, 5 drops 

Oil of cloves, 3 drops. 

Mix and put in smelling bottle. 



FINGER-NAIL POLISH. 

The nail polish sold in the stores is simply Oxide of Tin 
colored with carmine and perfumed to suit. The following is a 
desirable 

NAIL POLISH. 

Pure oxide of tin, | ounce 

Oil of lavender, 15 drops 

Carmine, q. s. 

Mix. Rub on nails with nail polisher. 



"MAGNOLIA BALM." 

The following formula yields a preparation substantially the 
same as the genuine. It is quite harmless : — 

Oxide of zinc, 4 drackms 

Glycerine, 1 fluid ounce 

Rose water, 2 J ounces 

Carmine, {grain 

Oil of bergamot, 1 drop 

Oil of lemon, 1 drop. 

Mix thoroughly. 



G24 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

"BLOOM OF YOUTH." 

Flake white, 3 drachms 

Carmine No. 40, 10 grains 

Glycerine, 1 drachm 

Rose water, 3f ounces. 

Mix in a mortar. Shake before using and apply with 
sponge. 



HAIR PREPARATIONS. 

"SHAMPOO" FOR THE HALE. 

When the hair and scalp are washed with a shampoo, the 
cleansing process should be concluded by washing with pure 
water. They should not be used too frequently, and never unless 
the condition of the hair and scalp requires their employment. 
Only enough to thoroughly wet the scalp should be used. 

"SEA FOAM" SHAMPOO. 

Ammonia water, 2 drachms 

Cologne water, 2 drachms 

Alcohol, 4 ounces 

Water, 44 ounces. 

EGG SHAMPOO. 

The following is said to be an excellent combination to clean 
the scalp of loose scurf and dandruff: — 
Yolk of one egg, 

Rain water, . 1 pint 

Rosemary spirits, 1 ounce. 

Beat the ingredients thoroughly together and use them 
warm, rubbing the lotion into the skin of the head, 
followed by a thorough rinsing. 

STAR HAIR OIL (NEW YORK BARBERS'). 

Castor oil, 6| ounces 

Alcohol, 1 ounce 

Oil citronella, 6 drops 

Oil lavender, 12 drops. 

Mix. An excellent dressing. 



HAIR PREPARATIONS. 625 

TEA HAIR TONIC. 

Bay rum, 2 ounces 

Glycerine, 2 ounces 

Alcohol, 2 ounces 

Black tea, made strong, ... 10 ounces. 

Mix and perfume to suit. The tea should be made 
strong (say one ounce of best quality to ten ounces 
boiling water) ; let stand till cool ; strain and add 
other ingredients. 

CASTOR OIL HAIR TONIC. 

Castor oil, 6 drachms 

Oil bergamot, 6 drachms 

Oil cinnamon, 4 drops 

Oil cloves, 4 drops 

Oil lavender, 20 drops 

Tincture cantharidcs, .... J drachm 

Aqua ammonia, 1 drachm 

Alcohol sufficient to make 8 ounces. 

Mix. Use as hair Tonic. An excellent preparation. 

HAIR RESTORER. 

Lac sulphur, 1 drachm 

Sugar of lead, 1 drachm 

Powdered copperas, .... 32 grains 

Tannin, 32 grains 

Rose water, 4 ounces. 

Mix. Wetting the hair once a day for a couple of 
weeks with the above will invigorate and keep the 
color. It should not be used too lavishly. 

HAIR TONIC. 

Very useful in dandruff and coining baldness: — 

Rock salt, as much as will dis- 
solve 

Glycerine, one tablespoonful 

Flour of sulphur, one teaspoonful 

Old whiskey, h pint. 

Mix. Usu as a hair tunic. 
40 



626 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

WASH FOR DANDRUFF. 

Powdered borax, 20 grains 

Lead water, 2 drachms 

Rain water, | tumblerful 

Glycerine, 1 tablespoonful. 

Mix. Use twice a day. 

DANDRUFF MIXTURE. 

Chloral hydrate, 1 drachm 

Glycerine, 4 drachms 

Bay rum, 8 ounces. 



LOTION FOR CHAPPED HANDS, Etc. 

Tincture benzoin, 1 drachm 

Glycerine, 1 drachm. 

Bay rum to make 2 ounces. 



CHAPPED HANDS. 

Menthol, 10 grains 

Salol, 8 grains 

Glycerine, J drachm 

Lanoline, \ ounce 

Petrolatum, \ ounce. 

Mix thoroughly. Rub on the hands morning and 
night. 

WASH FOR THE FACE. 

The following is an excellent lotion to prevent chap, cleanse 
the pores of the skin and remove sunburn : — 

Powdered borax, 2 drachms 

Glycerine, \ ounce 

Camphor water, 1 pint. 

Mix. Wet the face morning and evening and let it 
remain on several minutes and wash off with rain 
water. 



MISCELLANEOUS PREPARATIONS. 627 



The following will be found very 

Iodide of potassium, 
Fowler's solution, 
Hoffman's anodyne, 
Tincture belladonna, 



ASTHMA REMEDY. 

useful in many cases : — 

. . 1J drachms 

. . 1 drachm 

. . 2 ounces 

. . 2 drachms. 
Spirit of orange enough to make 6 ounces. 

Mix. Take two teaspoonfuls in water an hour after 
meals. 

ASTHMA REMEDY. 

The following will be found extremely useful in many cases of 
this affection. Sometimes it relieves in a few minutes: — 

Tincture lobelia, 1 ounce 

Iodide of ammonia, .... 2 drachms 
Bromide of ammonia, .... 3 drachms 

Syrup of tolu, 3 ounces. 

Mix. Dose, a teaspoonful every one, two, three or four 
hours, as required. 

EPILEPSY CURE. 

Brown-Sequard, the great French physician, prescribes the fol- 
lowing for Epilepsy or Fits : — 

Bromide of soda, 3 drachms 

Bromide of potash, 3 drachms 

Bromide of ammonia, .... 3 drachms 

Iodide of potash, 1| drachms 

Iodide of ammonia, . . . . l| drachms 

Carbonate of ammonia, ... 1 drachm 

Tincture Colombo, 1| ounces. 

Aqua enough to make ... 8 ounces. 

Mix. Full dose for adult, one teaspoonful before each 
meal and one at bedtime. 



EYE WATER. 

Morphia sulphate, 3 grains 

Zinc sulphate, ....... 2 grains 

Distilled water, 1 ounce. 

Mix. Apply two drops to the eye every three hours 
for conjunctivitis. 



628 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

LIP SALVE. 

Cold cream, 1 ounce 

Glycerine, | drachm 

Tincture of benzoin, .... 20 drops. 

Rub the carmine with the glycerine and incorporate 
with the cold cream ; then add the tincture of ben- 
zoin and rub the ointment until the alcohol of the 
tincture has evaporated. 

FOR SOFTENING HARDENED EAR WAX. 

Borax, 10 grains 

Glycerine, J drachm 

Water, 1 ounce. 

Mix. Two or three drops warmed and gently dropped 

into the ear every day for two or three days, to be 

followed by syringing the ear. 

MAGNESIA MIXTURE FOR CHILDREN. 

Useful in bowel affections and summer complaint. 

Husband's magnesia, .... 1 drachm 
Powdered gum arabic, .... | drachm. 
Triturate together, and add : — 
Spiced syrup of rhubarb, ... 3 drachms 

Fennel-seed water, 1J ounces. 

Mix. Shake well. Dose, one teaspoonful for child. 



MUCILAGES. 

MUCILAGE OF GUM TRAGACANTH. 

Gum tragacanth, 1 ounce 

Boiling water, 16 ounces. 

Macerate in a suitable vessel for twenty-four hours, 
occasionally stirring. Forcibly strain through linen. 

MUCILAGE OF DEXTRINE. 

Dextrine, good quality, . . . 1\ ounces 

Boiling water, 4 ounces 

Oil of cloves, 1 drop. 

Proceed as directed for Mucilage of Gum Arabic. 



MISCELLANEOUS PREPARATIONS. 629 



MUCILAGE OF GUM ARABIC. 

Powdered gum arabic, ... 1 ounce 

Boiling water, 2 ounces 

Oil of cloves, 1 drop. 

Thoroughly dissolve and mix by gradually adding the 
water to the gum, and rubbing together in a Wedg- 
wood mortar. 



BILL POSTERS' PASTE. 

Wheat flour, 1 pound 

Water, 8 ounces 

Powdered alum, J ounce 

Oil of cloves, 5 drops. 

Mix, and make a paste. 



PASTE FOR STICKING LABELS ON TIN. 

Rub 3 pounds of rye flour with water and add one pound of 
brown sugar. Boil and constantly stir until the flour is well 
cooked, adding more water as necessary. When cool add 1 ounce 
of powdered alum and 5 drops of oil of cloves. 



TO FASTEN LABELS ON METAL. 

Tragacanth mucilage, . . . . 1J ounces. 

Honey, 1} ounces. 

Flour, \ ounce. 

Mix. 



BAKING POWDERS, 
NO. I. 

Pure cream of tartar, .... 8 ounces. 
Bicarbonate of sodium, .... 4 ounces. 

Rub together thoroughly in a Wedgwood mortar and sift 
through a fine sieve. Set aside for twenty-four hours, and repeat 
the operation two or three times more, or until the powder ceases 
to bo lumpy. Two or three teaspoonfuls are sufficient for a pound 
of flour. 



630 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

NO. 2. 

Pure cream of tartar, . . . . 5J ounces. 

Bicarbonate of sodium, . . . . 2J ounces. 

Tartaric acid, J ounce. 

Wheat flour, 2 ounces. 

Mix as directed above. 

NO. 3. 

Cream of tartar, 4 ounces. 

Bicarbonate of soda, 2 ounces. 

Corn starch, 2 ounces. 



HYGIENE. 

Hygiene, in the broadest and best sense, consists in co-operating 
with nature in the preservation of health and in the care of the 
human body. 

During the few years just past, this subject, under the title 
of " Laws of Health," has become a matter of general considera- 
tion. The human body was made with definite faculties, depend- 
ent upon definite means of support, and in many ways subject to 
definite laws. 

The food we eat, the air we breathe, the clothing we wear, and 
the exercise of the body, must all conform to certain necessities 
and conditions, or the health will surely suffer. 

FOOD. 

The hygiene of the food is exceedingly important. Wholesome 
and appropriate diet is within the reach of all ; but modern cus- 
toms, education, and cookery make rather a sorry pretence at 
following the laws of health. Our food is too concentrated, too 
stimulating, and we fail to follow the requirements of season 
almost entirely. We need more meats and a richer food in 
winter than in summer; during the summer months the diet 
should be largely vegetable, and non-heating in character. 

The amount of food eaten is generally too large. When the 
consumption of food is beyond the requirements of the system, 
or beyond the powers of digestion, it fails to be properly assimi- 



HYGIENE. 631 

lated, and the surplus only acts as a clog to the digestive process. 
It requires extraordinary mechanism to transform food into bone, 
muscle, nerve, and thought, and we cannot be too careful in 
closely obeying the laws which govern these functions. Food 
must not only be of the proper sort and proper amount, but it 
must be properly chewed and insalivated, and partaken of at 
regular and proper intervals. 

It is well known that impure water is the source of much sick- 
ness, and it is a subject well worthy of more attention than it 
receives. Unfortunately, while water is abundant, we can seldom 
control the quality of that which comes to us. Pure water is a 
luxury which too few are privileged to enjoy. 

CLOTHING. 

We not only wear clothing to keep as warm, but to regulate the 
temperature of the body. In winter such materials should be 
worn as repel the external cold and retain the heat of the body. 
In summer it should consist of materials to resist the rays of the 
sun and at the same time permit the outgo of the heat from the 
body. At all times the clothing should be porous, so that the 
perspiration of the body may escape, and that pure air may find 
its way to the surface of the skin. 

There are four materials used in clothing: linen, cotton, wool, 
and the skins of animals. 

Linen is a rapid conductor of heat, is agreeable to the touch, 
and is pleasant to wear in summer, but, as a rule, should not be 
worn next to the skin, as it is apt to chill the surface too rapidly. 

Cotton is warmer than linen, and on account of its being less 
rapid in conducting heat is more suited as an article of clothing. 
It is well adapted to summer wear, and affords a good protection 
against sudden changes of atmosphere. 

Wool is a poor conductor of heat, is very porous, and absorbs 
moisture slowly, hence it is well adapted to protect the body from 
changes and extremes of atmosphere. 

As a rule, flannel should be worn next to the skin, and we 
should depend more upon our underclothing to guard us from 
atmospheric changes, and less upon overcoats, wraps, etc. Two 
thin thicknesses of flannel arc warmer than one thick one; and 
fine, loose, porous cloth is warmer than that closely woven; light- 
colored clothing is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than 
dark colored. 

Heavy garments, which burden the wearer, are always to be 



632 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

avoided ; they are no warmer than those of less weight, and they 
are a source of much fatigue. 

Much of the " all wool " clothing and fabrics of the dry goods 
merchant are not wool at all ; a strict law is needed upon this 
point, as it is impossible for any one except an expert to decide 
between woolen cloth and the imitation. 

Bed Clothing is as important as that worn during the day. 
Most people sleep under too much covering, which prevents the 
exit of the bodily perspiration, always increased at this time, and 
the passage to the surface of the skin of pure air from the outside. 
The weight of over-heavy quilts hinders the respiration and tends 
to exhaust the various forces of the body. As far as possible bed- 
clothing should be made of wool. The bed itself should be com- 
fortable and somewhat resisting. 

To say that the feet should be kept dry and well-shod is almost 
superfluous. Shoes should be made the shape of the feet, neither 
too small nor too large ; the soles should be substantial and some- 
what thick. The stockings; which should they be — cotton or 
wool ? The general belief has been that woolen stockings are to 
be preferred, but some recent writers are strongly in favor of 
cotton hose. Woolen may be better for those troubled with cold 
feet, but for those who are troubled with sweaty feet — by far the 
majority of people — those made of cotton are no doubt to be 
preferred. 

VENTILATION. 

A supply of pure air is the most constant necessity to human 
existence. Each healthy person breathes 7,000,000 times annu- 
ally, inhaling 100,000 cubic feet of air and purifying nearly 
1,000,000 pounds of blood. 

It is not necessary, as many imagine, that the supply of air 
must be cut off, in order to destroy life. We only appropriate 
one element of the air in breathing. We take into our lungs all 
kinds of impurities that may be in the atmosphere, yet oxygen is 
the only one which is properly absorbed by the lungs. The 
nitrogen of the atmosphere passes out of our lungs just as it 
entered, and if there is a lack of oxygen in the air, or if other 
gases have taken its place, our bodies must continually suffer. 

The air as it passes from the lungs is surcharged with impuri- 
ties, and a single breath to a limited extend will contaminate the 
air of an entire room. Who has not felt the ill-effects of breathing 
the foul atmosphere of a closed room filled with people ? Besides 
this, the excretions of the skin are constantly tainting the air, and 



HYGIENE. 633 

no law of nature is more imperative than that demanding that 
the atmosphere which we breathe shall be kept pure and fresh. 

We all know that if the oxygen is taken from the air entirely, 
the remaining gases only act as a poison ; if the air we breathe 
is deficient in oxygen it acts as a slow poison. . " One not very 
strong, or unable powerfully to resist conditions unfavorable to 
health, and with a predisposition to lung disease, will be sure, 
sooner or later, by partial lung starvation and blood-poisoning, to 
develop pulmonary consumption. The lack of what is so abund- 
ant and so cheap — good, pure air — is unquestionably the cause of 
this terrible disease." 

The air of living and sleeping rooms should, as near as possible, 
be kept as pure and fresh as air out of doors. Aside from its 
effect upon the general health, impure air causes stupidity and 
languor during the daytime, and mental restlessness and wakeful- 
ness at night. 

There are a great many false ideas and prejudices in regard to 
the air. Many suppose that the night air is unhealthy, and close 
their bed-room windows, and spend their sleeping hours in re- 
breathing their own breath. The air of cities and large manu- 
facturing towns is often purer at night than during the day, and 
in all places open night air is to be preferred to that of closed 
sleeping apartments. Bed-room windows should be opened a little 
at both bottom and top, and the bed-clothing graduated to 
secure comfort. Cold fresh air promotes sleep, and those who 
spend their hours of repose in such an atmosphere awake in 
the morning recuperated in body and well supplied with physical 
vigor. 

Some people think that it is a good thing to " get good and 
warm " before going out in the cold. Parents will instruct their 
children to stand close to the stove, and when they are in the 
worst possible condition to resist a change of temperature, will 
send them out in the wintry blasts. Nothing could be done to 
sooner invite sickness. There is an almost universal belief that 
it is the cold atmosphere out of doors whicli causes so many 
people to contract colds, coughs, etc., during winter months. Such, 
however, is not the case. It is because the indoor apartments are 
so poorly ventilated and over-heated, that the system becomes 
debilitated, and the powers of resistance become inoperative. If 
our houses were as well ventilated in winter as in summer, we 
would be more exempt from sickness during winter than iv bot 
weather. Many sitting-rooms, offices, school-houses, and church* 
are kept as warm or warmer during the coldest winter weather 
than during the hottest days of summer, and as no air is admitted 



634 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

from the outside in many instances, the air is incomparably more 
devitalizing. 

Ventilation is becoming a consideration in architectural designs, 
and the houses of the future will no doubt be very differently 
constructed from those of the past. It is just as important that 
favorable entrances for pure air and exits for impure air be con- 
sidered in building a house, as windows to admit sunlight and 
chimneys to carry out the smoke. 

The Ventilation of Sick Rooms requires the admission of pure, 
fresh air from the outside, without causing a strong draft upon the 
patient, and without changing the temperature of the room to any 
considerable extent. Yet the air must circulate in the room. The 
foul air in a room is sure to find an exit, if pure air is admitted 
in sufficient amount. If there is an open fire-place, the chimney 
serves as an excellent conductor of foul air. When the draft from 
the outside is too great through a window slightly lowered or 
raised, a strip of muslin, one or two thicknesses, may be drawn 
over the opening to check the incoming draft. If the air is let 
in at the top of the window, it will be much less apt to affect the 
temperature of a room. It should be remembered that the car- 
bonic acid gas exhaled is heavier than natural air, and conse- 
quently sinks to the floor ; in effecting its exit an opening such 
as a fireplace or doorway is better than vents more elevated. 

The removal of all offensive substances from the sick-room, and 
the thorough disinfection of all vessels and utensils used therein, 
must, of course, be attended to. 

The mechanism of heating apparatus, chimneys, flues, transoms, 
hall-ways, and other air mains, is now in many instances in accord- 
ance with the laws of ventilation. In the construction of new 
houses, both private and public, if more attention were given to 
this subject and less to the style and shape of the exterior, an im- 
provement of the general health of the dwellers within would 
result. 

PERSONAL CLEANLINESS. 

The functions of the skin are numerous. It both secretes and 
excretes ; its substance is penetrated by numberless glands, and 
there is constantly passing off from the skin a vapor known as 
the insensible perspiration. The amount of unnoticed perspira- 
tion passing off from the skin during twenty-four hours is not far 
from two pints ; in summer it is much more, and in winter some- 
what less. The sweat consists of about ninety-nine parts of water 
and about one part solid matter. 

If the perspiration is entirely checked death will ensue in a very 



HYGIENE. 635 

short time, and it cannot be interfered with without correspond- 
ingly affecting the general health. An illustration of how the 
activity of the skin affects health is shown in the currying of 
animals ; those so treated being kept in much better condition 
than those receiving less attention. Unless the skin is washed and 
kept free from the accumulations caused by the sweat and the 
exudations, its action is impaired. 

The action of the skin is closely related to that of the various 
internal organs. During extreme hot weather, to a large ex- 
tent it does the work of the kidneys ; when the blood is laden 
with impurities, as in rheumatism, jaundice, malaria, etc., a 
cure can often be greatly hurried by promoting the action of 
the skin. The special employment of water constitutes the prac- 
tice of Hydropathy, and the success which frequently accompanies 
this form of treatment clearly demonstrates the importance of 
keeping the skin active and in good condition. 

Many of the diseases, such as congestions, inflammations, 
catarrhs, and " torpidities," consist simply of a clogged condition 
of some internal organ or part, and is in most instances amenable 
to treatment directed to the skin. 

Not only should the body be kept clean, but the clothing also. 
Clothing should be changed at proper intervals. Wearing ad- 
hesive or porous plasters for weeks or months at a time is a bad 
practice, tending to clog and injure the parts needing stimulating 
and purifying. 

BATHS. 

Bathing the body should be a part of the regular habits of 
every healthy person, and it should occupy a dominant place in 
the treatment of the sick. 

Immediately after rising is the best time to bathe, and it is not 
necessary that the body be immersed in water. The temperature 
of the water should be suited to individual requirements; in 
winter it should be tepid, and in summer cold. Salt, acids, or 
alkalies may be sometimes added with advantage. 

Sponge Bath. — Fill a basin with soft water of the desired tem- 
perature, and with a sponge quickly wet a part of or the entire 
body; dry the skin with a soil towel, and follow by friction with 
a coarse towel or flesh-brush for four or five minutes until the 
surface is ;ill aglow. If the weather be cold or the bodily vigor 
limited, only a portion of the body should be gone over at a time; 
by bathing a small surface at a time, and using rapid friction, the 
most delicate person can take ;i bath and feel refreshed in conse- 
quence, even in the coldest weather. The body should never be 



63G POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

allowed to become chilled during or after a bath, and if there is 
languor or depression following, it shows that the reaction is 
incomplete and the best effects of the bath lost. 

The above plan of bathing is of great service in the sick-room, 
and there are few conditions, indeed, where a partial bath of this 
sort daily will not greatly benefit, and it should be considered 
a desirable part of the treatment in all cases of sickness. 

The Acid Baths, referred to elsewhere, will be found extremely 
useful in chronic diseases, especially of the liver. 

Cold Bath. — Immersion of the body in cold water is extremely 
exhilarating to those in robust health, but delicate and feeble 
persons should be careful in adopting such measures. A bath 
should not be taken immediately after a meal, nor when the body 
is fatigued ; the time in the water should be limited to a few min- 
utes, and the subsequent reaction should be complete. The habit 
some people have of remaining in bath for an almost indefinite 
time is often injurious to health. The hygienic and medicinal 
virtues of a bath consist in cleaning and promoting the healthy 
action of the skin, and in stimulating the physical vigor, and if 
chilliness, blueness of the skin, or depression, accompany or follow, 
it has failed to benefit. 

Tepid and Hot Bath. — Immersing the body in warm water 
brings the blood to the surface of the body and increases the action 
of the skin. While it should not be practiced daily, except in 
special cases, it is extremely important that it be practiced at least 
once a week. A tepid bath is when the temperature is from 70° 
to 80° and a hot bath is of a temperature of 96° to 102°. From 
ten to twenty minutes is long enough to remain in hot water, and 
the immersion should take place gradually, and the entire surface 
should be thoroughly rubbed after coming from the water. The 
use of Cologne, Florida water, or Bay Rum, applied on a towel, is 
exceedingly grateful and refreshing after such a process, and 
renders the skin much less susceptible to the cold. 

Turkish Bath. — This form of bath consists in the application 
of dry heat and is often called a " sweat." It is generally prac- 
ticed only in large cities and towns, where establishments are to 
be found specially fitted up for their administration. The same 
principle may, however, be carried out in a somewhat modified 
form in any home. A small alcohol lamp, well protected to avoid 
anything catching fire, is placed under a wicker chair, and the 
patient is to be stripped of clothing and seated upon the chair, 
and the patient and chair are to be wrapped in one or two large 
blankets. The heat from the lamp will soon cause profuse sweat- 
ing- Instead of the lamp, several hot bricks may be placed 



THE SICK-ROOM. 637 

under the chair. Liberal friction with towels should follow the 
bath. 

Russian Bath. — This form of bath consists in the application 
of heated moisture, and may be practiced in the home by fixing 
the end of a tube over the spout of a kettle and conducting the 
other end under a cane-seated chair upon which the patient is 
seated, as in taking a Turkish bath. Slaking quick-lime under 
the chair will generate a decided heat. 

The bath may be continued for five to fifteen minutes, when the 
patient should be quickly dried and put to bed. 

It should not be forgotten that hot baths are very debilitating 
and are not to be used except as ordered by a physician. 

Hot Foot-bath. — This is known to all and is of great service 
in incipient colds, fevers and inflammations, headaches and catar- 
rhal conditions. The feet should be immersed in a large bucket, 
nearly full of water, as hot as can be borne, and fresh hot water 
added as it cools. 

Mustard may be added when a counter-stimulant action is re- 
quired. At bed-time is the best time to take a hot foot-bath. A 
hot foot-bath, prolonged for hours, is an excellent way of treating 
sprains of the ankle-joint. 

A Sitz-bath consists in sitting in a basin, tub, or other vessel 
of hot water for ten to thirty minutes, with a thick blanket thrown 
around the shoulders of the patient in a manner to confine the 
vapor. This form of bath is of great service in diseases of the 
lower abdomen, piles, dysentery, etc. 



IN THE SICK-ROOM. 

The following was written by an eminent English physician, 
and should be read by every person who lias occasion to attend 
upon the sick. We heartily give it a place here : — 

Do not walk on tiptoe, for this, in addition to its unusual elabora- 
tion of the gait, invariably causes a certain amount of creaking. 

Speak in low tones, but don't whisper; a whisper will often 
awaken a .sleeper who would not be disturbed by ordinary conver- 
sation; and never say "Hush!" Let your clothes and foot 
covering !)<■ of as uoiseless and unobtrusive a character as possible, 
and instead of gliding and tottering about like a rickety ghost, do 
not hesitate to walk. Jj you have occasion hi say anything in the 
room, say it so (hut the patient <<in hem it if he wishes, and do not 



638 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

let him be aware of your conspiring privately with others, 
especially at the door. 

That door has much to answer for. If it be visible from the 
bed, people open it cautiously, rjut their heads in, and slowly with- 
draw again. If, as is more frequently the case, it is screened by 
the bed curtains, mysterious openings and shuttings are heard, 
unattended with any ingress or egress, and sotto voce colloquies go 
on outside. When you enter, do so honestly and at once; do not 
spend jive minutes in turning the handle, like a housebreaker, thereby 
producing a series of irritating little clicks, finally terminating in 
a big snap, with which the door flies open. If the latch be at all 
rusty, a handle that is slowly wound back in this way will often 
stick, and either require to be rattled back into position, or, if left 
as it is, may start back suddenly after a time, of its own accord, 
with a report like a pistol shot. 

It is always well to recollect that it by no means follows that a sick 
person is asleep because his eyes are shut; he maybe acutely con- 
scious of all that is passing in the room, though unable or unwil- 
ling to make any sign ; and nothing can be more maddening, 
under such circumstances, than to have people hush-shing and 
whispering around, and creaking about on the tips of their toes. 
We have all sympathized in our hearts with poor Sir Leicester 
Dedlock when his tongue was smitten with paralysis, with his 
sister constantly bending over him with clasped hands and mur- 
muring, " He is asleep ! " till, goaded to desperation, he makes 
signs for his slate and writes, "I am not." 

Never stand at the foot of the bed and look at the patient. While talking 
to him it is better to sit by the side of the bed, and as near the pil- 
low as possible, so that you may converse easily, while your face and 
body are turned in the same direction as his. By this means, you 
can make all necessary observation of his features without enforc- 
ing the arrest of his eyes to your own, which is so embarrassing 
and disagreeable to one lying in bed, and is almost unavoidable 
when facing him. Keep him as comfortable as possible, by all 
means, but don't be too demonstrative in smoothing the pillows 
and little offices of that sort. Fidgety attentions will worry him, 
and do him more harm than downright neglect. 

]\lien you are sleepy, it is better for your charge, as well as for 
yourself, that you should go to bed at once, and get that repose in 
slumber to which you must succumb eventually, however strong 
your devotion may be, and however great the interests at stake. 
It is not necessary to dwell here on the prudence of economizing 
your strength, that you may be capable of greater or prolonged 
exertions, should the need for them arise, or to look at this detail 



THE SICK-ROOM. 639 

from the point of view which affects yourself. But in any case, 
you can be of little or no service, worn out with fatigue, and in a 
condition more akin to somnambulism than vigilance, and the 
spectacle of a nodding, dozing nurse is neither soothing nor reas- 
suring to the sufferer ; while, if you be one near and dear to him, 
he will be tormented with anxiety lest you should impair your 
own health on his account. In such a case as this, you cannot 
do better than lie down comfortably on a sofa or bed where he can 
watch you, and there have a good nap — for his sake. 

Some people have a great notion of " tempting the appetite " 
by the suggestion of all manner of eatables and drinkables, or by 
bringing them ready prepared to the bedside experimentally. 
This, no doubt, is very well at times — during convalescence, for 
instance ; but as a medical man, I am persuaded that it is a mis- 
take in the earlier stages of an illness, when all food is loathed 
alike, and the creation of an appetite is an impossibility. The 
only thing to be done is to impress on the invalid the necessity of taking 
what is ordered for him at stated times, just as he takes his medicine; 
and it should be prepared on the same footing as a medicine — with 
the understanding that it is a nauseous dose, and must be pre- 
sented in a form that will admit of its being swallowed as com- 
pactly and rapidly as possible. It is worse tJian useless to employ 
flavoring 'matters at this stage, with the idea of making anything 
palatable ; if you can render his food absolutely tasteless, you will 
do far more for him. And beyond this forcible administration, 
so to speak, of a certain amount, I think little good is gained by 
suggesting this or that delicacy, in the hope that your patient 
may be induced to " fancy " something. We may take it for 
granted that when he feels inclined for anything he will ask for 
it spontaneously ; and the promptings of nature are more likely 
to lead him to a choice of what is best for him, than our string of 
suggestions. I have frequently observed that when sick people 
have mentioned a desire for any special food, they almost invari- 
ably eat of it when it is procured ; whereas it often happens when 
they have been persuaded to assent to something which has been 
proposed, the inclination — if it ever existed — has passed away 
before the dish' or article can be brought to them. 

I say, " if it ever existed ;" for there is no doubt that a patient 
often yields to suggestions in sheer extremity, simply for the sake of 
peace. I happened to be in a sick room the other day, when a 
relative arrived on the scene. »She had been warned to repress 
all emotion, and succeeded very well ; but her tender solicitude 
was wholly irrepressible. I am sure that she asked at least twenty 
questions in less than a minute, until the unhappy sufferer 



640 POPULAR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

writhed under them. " Shall I raise your head a little ? Will 
you have another pillow ? Wouldn't you like your head a little 
higher? Let me fan you ? Will you have the blind up. What 
can I get you ? Some arrowroot ? Do try some ! I am sure you 
will be more comfortable with another pillow. Will you have 
one ? — yes ; do ! I'll go and get one. Will you have a cup of 
tea? I'm sure it would do you good. A cup of tea won't take a 
minute," etc. The cup of tea has been a dreadful instrument of 
torture in the hands of well-meaning people, who would not 
knowingly have teased a fly. 

These are small things, you will say. But a small thing in 
health is often magnified to a great matter in sickness, and the sum 
total of them all may be as serious in their effect as the disease 
itself. It will be seen that the few points upon which I have 
laid stress are such as are calculated to promote tranquillity of 
mind — which, indeed, is half the battle in medical treatment. It 
is generally conceded that a trained nurse, who has no interest in 
the patient beyond that which the duties of her office impose, is 
better fitted to expedite his recovery than those who are bound 
to him by ties of affection, however welcome their presence may 
be in the hour of affliction. 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

The last page has been written : our work is finished, and now 
awaits the judgment of the public. With all the stability 
claimed — and justly claimed — for medical science as the gathered 
wisdom of the world's experience in the treatment and cure of 
diseases, such a work as the present could not have been written 
thirty years ago, — for thirty years have made changes both in the 
character of diseases and the character of the remedies required in 
our modern civilization. Diseases are modified by climate and the 
habits of the people, as plants are modified by climate and the 
character of the soil in which they are grown. 

Forty years ago large doses and " heroic " treatment carried the 
day. Calomel and jalap, the lancet, and the forbidden use of 
water in cases of fever, were the dominant factors in medical 
practice. Now " bleeding " (except metaphorically) is almost un- 
known. We have no Dr. Sangrados at the present day ; calomel 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 641 

doses have dwindled from ten grains to one, or even one-tenth 
of one, and it would puzzle most people to tell what jalap is. 

Numerous pathies have, indeed, sprung up in these latter days, 
demanding recognition and obtaining toleration ; but all use the 
medicines of the " Old School." Nux vomica, for example, is a 
leading remedy with some, and homceopathists prescribe this, and 
a hundred other medicines, in cases exactly similar to those for 
which the so-called allopathists prescribe them. In the present 
work nux vomica, aconite, and other virulent poisons are recom- 
mended in small but not infinitesimal doses, and with words of 
caution annexed. If any think they can beneficially use such 
drugs in still smaller doses than we prescribe, we shall not quarrel 
with them so long as the test of experience is not against them. 
All true medical practitioners acknowledge the test of experience 
as the supreme and only arbiter in medical science. 

If we are right in the position we take, that the system of 
medical practice herein set forth, with its modern improvements, 
is a faithful embodiment of the best medical learning of the 
age, it is a system that ought to be understood by all prac- 
titioners, of whatever pathies. Then let all study it thoroughly, 
and if their experience can amend it, the change will gradually 
work its way to recognition ; but let all remember that theories 
alone — for all charlatans traffic in them — are worse than worth- 
less and dangerous impediments to reform, unless they have a 
very great amount of practical wisdom to sustain them. . The 
medical fraternity of the present day is an enlightened and phil- 
anthropic body, and is always as ready to welcome genuine 
reform as to frown upon ignorant pretenders. 



INDEX. 



"When two or more pages are referred to in the Index, the first mini her given is to 
be considered of chief importance. 



Abdomen, pain in, 155. 
Abscess, 105. 

" palmar, 212. 
Absinthium, 577. 
Absorbent cotton, 465. 
Acacia, 486. 
Acetanilide, 433. 
Acetum, 573. 
Acids, 417. 
Acid baths, 420. 

" boracic, 445. 

" carbolic, 452. 

" chromic, 421. 

" citric, 421. 

" gallic, 479. 

" hydrochloric, 417. 

" hydrocyanic, dilute, 421. 

" mineral, 417. 

" muriatic, 417. 

dilute, 417. 

" nitric, 418. 

" " dilute, 418. 

" nitro-muriatic, 417. 

" phenic, L52. 

" phosphate, 419. 

" phosphoric, 417. 

" dilute, 419. 

" prussic, 421. 

" sulphuric, 420. 

" " aromatic, 419. 

" tartaric, 422. 

" tannic, 479. 

" poisoning by, 613. 
Acidity of stomach, l()(i. 

" in dyspepsia, L96< 
Acne, 356. 
Aconite, 422. 
Ague, 304. 

" cake, 307 
Adenoids, 108. 
Adrenalin, 437. 



Alkaline antiseptic solution, 433. 
Alcohol, 423. 

" deodorized, 423. 
" lamps, 423. 
Alcoholic stimulants, 424. 
Acoholism, acute, 289. 

" habitual, 235. 

Ale, 424. 
Aletris, 574. 
Allium, 480. 
Almonds, 422. 
Aloes, 427. 
Aloin, 428. 
Alopecia, 242. 
Althaea, 510. 
Alteratives, list of, 595. 
Alum, 429. 
Ammonia, 430. 

" aqua, 430. 

" aromatic spirits, 431. 

" bromide, 446. 

" carbonate, 431. 

' ' chloride, 432. 

" iodide, 493. 

" liniment, 430. 
Amy] nitrite, 517. 
Anemia, 107. 
Anaesthetics, 458. 
Anasarca, 187. 
Aneurism, 109. 
Angina pectoris, 109. 
Antiphlogistine, 544. 
Antitoxin, 427. 
Antifehrin, 433. 

Antii iy, . r ifi!(. 

Antipyrine, 433. 
Antiseptics, 604, 600. 
Antiseptic i rcatment, 605. 
Ants, to destroy, 605. 
Apollinaris water, 596. 

Apocynnm, 487. 



G43 



644 



Apoplexy, 110. 
Apomorphia, 529. 
Appendicitis, 111. 
Appetizers, list of, 597. 
Aphthae, 282. 
Aqua .ammonia, 430. 

" fortis, 418. 

" Eegia, 417. 
Aralia, 564. 
Aristol, 496. 
Arnica, 434. 
Arsenic, 435. 
Arum, 570. 
Asafcetida, 436. 
Ascites, 187. 
Asclepias, 539. 
Aspidium, 507. 
Asthma, 113. 

" remedies for, 627. 
Atomizers, 146, 491. 
Atrophy, 311. 
Atropia, 440. 
Aurum, 248. 
Autumnal catarrh, 251. 



B 

Baby foods, 278. 
Back, pains in, 300. 
Bad breath, 130. 
Bad colds, 153. 
Baking powders, 629. 
Baldness, 242. 
Basimm's mixture, 498. 
Balsam copaiba, 437. 

" Peru, 437. 
Barbers' itch, 358. 
Baths, 635. 

" acid, 420. 
Bateman's drops, 528. 
Baume tranquille, 438. 
Baunscheidtism, 438. 
Bay rum, 423. 
Bedsores, 115. 
Bed-bugs, to destroy, 606. 
Beef extracts, 510. 
Beef tea, 511. 

" peptonized, 511. 
Beef iron and wine, 498. 
Beer, 424. 
Belladonna, 439. 
Benzoin, 440. 
Benzoic acid, 440. 
Benzoate of ammonia, 440. 
Bichloride of mercury, 514. 
Biliousness, 116. 
Bismuth, 441. 
Beri-beri, 115. 



Bittersweet, 441. 
Bitter wine of iron, 498. 
Bladder, diseases of, 118. 
" catarrh of, 119. 

' " inflammation of, 118. 
" injections into, 119. 
" irritation of, 119. 
" stone in, 120. 
Blackheads, 117. 
" cohosh, 441. 
" haw, 442. 
" root, 467. 
" wash, 512. 
Blisters, 442. 
Blood, the, 123. 

" diseases, 124. 

" impure, 123. 

" poverty of the, 117. 

" spitting, 260. 

" letting, 443. 

'' purifiers, list of, 595. 

" root, 444. 
Bloom of youth, 624. 
Blue mass, 513. 

" stone, 465. 

" vitriol, 465. 
Boils, 124. 

" blind. 125. 
Boneset, 445. 
Borax, 445. 
Boric acid, 446. 
Brain and spinal cord, 125. 

'" anpemia of, 128. 

" complexity of, 125. 

" congestion of, 110-126. 

" diseases of, 125. 

" during sleep, 128. 

" hemorrhages of, 110. 

' ' hardening of, 129. 

" inflammation, 126. 

" meninges of, 126. 

" softening of, 129. 
Brandy, 424. 
Breath, the, 130. 
Bright' s disease, 132. 
Brimstone, 566. 
British oil, 446. 
Bromides, 446. 
Bromo- caffeine, 447. 
Bronio soda, 447. 
Bronchocele, 231. 
Bronchitis, acute, 134. 

" chronic, 135. 

Brown mixture, 528, 503. 
Bruises, 136. 
Bryonia, 447. 
Buchu, 448. 



645 



Buckthorn, 448. 
Buffalo lithia water, 5' 
Buuions, 137. 
Burns and scalds, 137. 
Bursa, 138. 
Burdock, 449. 
Burnt alum, 429. 
Butter color, 433. 
Buttermilk, 469. 



Cadmium. 449. 
Caffeine, 449. 

" citrate, 449. 
Calomel, 512. 
Calomel 
Calcium, iodide of, 493. 

" sulphate, 450. 
Calamus. 45U. 
Camphor, 450. 

" chloral, 451. 
" monobromated, 451. 
Cancers, 139. 

" errors concerning, 139. 
" odor of, 141. 
Canker root, 484. 
Cannabis Indica, 487 
Cantharides, 563. 
Cantbaridal collodion, 443. 
Capsicum, 454. 

" plasters, 455. 
Carbuncle, 141. 
Carbolic acid, 452. 
Cardamom seeds, 453. 
Garbo ligni, 456. 
Carthaiuus, 552. 
Caryophyllus, 461. 
Castor oil, 522-584. 
Cascara sagrada, 453. 
Cascara cordial, 453. 
Caetanea vesca, 456. 
Catarrh, 142. 

" atrophic, 144. 

" autumnal, 251. 

" gastric, 192. 

" hypertrophic, 144. 

" nasal, 14k. 

" snuff. U7-B90. 
Catarrhal fever, 283. 
Catalepsy, M7. 
Cataract, 209. 
( 'ali-chu, 164. 
< atliartic pills, 537. 
Cathartics, listof, 583. 
Cayenne, 454. 
Caustic, 560. 



Cerebral meningitis, 126. 
Cerebro-spinal meningitis, 126. 
Cerium oxalate, 455. 
Chapped hands, 147-351. 
Chafing, 351. 
Champagne, 424. 
Chamomile, 455. 
Chamomilla, 555. 
Charcoal, 456. 
Chenopodium, 577. 
Chest, cold on the, 134. 
Chestnut leaves, 456. 
Chicken pox, 148. 
Chilblains, 149. 
Chimaphila, 538. 
Chinoidine, 537. 
Cbique, to destroy, 609. 
Childhood, diseases of, 274. 
Chill, congestive, 308 
Chills and fever, 304. 
Chittem bark, 453. 
Chi rata, 457. 
Chloride of lime, 504. 
Chlorosis, 152. 
Chloride of ammonia, 432. 
Chloral, 457. 

" habit, 457. 
Chlorodyne, 458. 
Chlor-anodyne, 458. 
Chloroform!! 458. 
Chloroform liniment, 460. 
Cholera, epidemic, 150. 

" infantum, 276. 

" morbus, 151. 
Chorea, 365. 
Cider, 424. 
Cimicifuga, 441. 
Cinchona, 534. 
Ciuchonidia, 536. 
( leanliness, 634. 
Cloves, 461. 
Clover, 460. 
Cloasma, 296. 
Clothing, hvjriene of, 631. 
Clubfoot. 153. 
Clysters, 492. 
Cobalt. See arsenic. 
Cocculus, 477. 
Coca, 461. 
Cocaine, 461. 
Coca leaves, 461. 
Cockroaches, to destroy, 607. 
( locoa nut oil, 524, 476. 
Cock-eye, 210. 
Cocoa butter, 462. 
Cod-liver oil, 519. 

" emulsion, 521. 



646 



INDEX. 



Codeine, 529. 
Cohen's gargle, 486. 
Colchicum, 462. 
Colds, 153. 
Cold in the nose, 153. 

" on the chest, 153. 
Colic, 155. 

" bilious, 155. 
" flatulent, 155. 
" infantile, 278. 
" lead, 294, 155. 
" renal, 155. 
Colic root, 539. 
Cologne spirits, 423. 
Collodion, 463. 
Coltsfoot, 463. 

" candy, 463. 
Colombo, 463. 
Compound oxygen, 61. 
Coma, 179. 
Comfrey, 464. 

Compound licorice powder, 464. 
' ' spirits of ether, 488. 

Combs, 242. 
Contusions, 136. 

Consulting famous physicians, 97. 
Constipation, 157. 

" in dyspepsia, 196. 

" of infants, 279. 

Consumption, 162. 

" cough of, 162. 

" galloping, 163. 

" precepts concerning, 166. 

' ' errors concerning, 163. 

Consumptive's weed, 579. 
Convalescence, 172. 
Conjunctivitis, 206. 
Convulsions, 201, 362. 
Congestive chill, 308. 
Coptis, 484. 
Copperas, 498. 
Copper, 465. 
Coriander seeds, 465. 
Cornus Florida, 470. 
Corpulencv, 323. 
Corns, 173. 

Corrosive sublimate, 514. 
Cosmoline, 537. 
Cotton-seed oil, 524. 
Cotton, absorbent, 465. 
Coughs, 172. 

Cough mixtures, list of, 587. 
" remedies, list of, 585. 
Counter-irritants, 592. 
Coxalgia, 266. 
Coxe's hive syrup, 565. 
Crab orchard salts, 554. 



Cramp bark, 442. 
Creasote, 466. 
Cream of tartar, 466. 
Croup, 174. 

" false, 174. 

" true, 176. 

" powders, 514, 177. 
Cross-eyes, 209. 
Crooked feet, 153. 
Croton oil. 123. 

" liniment, 523. 

Crusta lactea, 354. 
Culver's root, 467. 
Cuprum, 465. 
Cupping, 444. 
Cyanide of potash, 421. 
Cystitis, 118. 
Creolin-Cresol, 605. 



Dandelion, 467. 
Dandruff, 245. 

" mixtures for, 626. 
Deadly nightshade, 439. 
Debility, 178. 

" general, 107. 
Decline, 178. 
Delirium, 179. 

" tremens, 179. 
Delusions, 94. 
Dentistry, 35. 
Dentition, 281. 
Deodorizers, 604, 600. 
Depilatories, 250. 
Dewees's carminative, 437. 
Diabetes, 180. 

" insipidus, 180. 

mellitus, 180. 
Diagnosis, 101. 
Diarrhoea, 182. 

" chronic, 183. 

" of infants, 280. 

Diet cures, 468. 
Digitalis, 469. 
Diphtheria, 184. 

" gargle for, 589. 

Diphtheritic sore throat, 184. 
Discharges, to disinfect, 603. 
Disease germs, to destroy, 600. 
Disease, symptoms of, 101. 
Disinfectants, 600. 
Diuretics, list of, 598. 
Discoveries in medicine, 95. 
Dog button, 518. 
Dog oil, 477 
Dogwood, 470. 
Domestic medicine measures, 415. 



647 



Doses of medicines, 416. 
Dosing babies, 85. 
Douche, nasal, 471. 
Dover's powder, 527. 
Dropsy, 187. 
Drowning, 188. 
Drugs, 413. 

Drunkenness, 235, 289. 
Dry tetter, 357. 
Dulcamara, 441. 
Dyeing the hair, 246. 
Dysentery, 190. Amebic, 191. 
Dyspepsia, 191. 

" acute, 116. 



Earache, 198. 

Ear diseases, 198. 

Ears, foreign bodies in, 200. 

" meddling with, 201. 

" noises in, 200. 

" running of the, 199. 

" wax in the, 201. 
Ear wax to remove, 628. 
Eclecticism, 27. 
Eczema, 353. 
Ecthyma, 356. 
Electricity, 472. 
Electro-therapy, 27. 
Elecampane, 471. 
Elixir of vitriol, 419. 

' ' iron, quinine, and strychnine, 536. 
Elm, 575. 

" mucilage, 475. 

u poultice, 475. 
Effervescent salts, 471. 
Emprosthotonos, 298. 
Endocarditis, 258. 
Enemas, 492. 
Epilepsy, 201. 

" remedy for, 627. 
Epidemic cholera, 150. 
Epsom salts, 554. 
Ergot, 475. 
Erysipelas, 204. 
Erythema, 351. 
Erytliroxylon, 461. 
Ether, 458. 
Eucalyptus, 476. 
Eupatorium, 547. 
Euphrasia, 476. 
Kxalgin, 433. 

Kxant hematic treatment, 438. 
Excoriations, 281. 
Expectorants, list of, 585. 
Eye-bright, 476. 



Eyes, diseases of, 205. 

" cast in the, 210. 

" cock, 210. 

" cross, 209. 

" foreign bodies in, 208. 

" inflammation of, 206. 

" weakness of, 209. 
Eyelashes, ingrowing, 210. 
Eyestones, 209. 
Eye waters, list of, 207. 
Eye- water, formula for, 627. 



Face, wash for, 626. 

Fainting, 210. 

Faith in doctors, 41. 

Faith cure, 64. 

Family physicians, 29. 

Far-sightedness, 209. 

Fats, 476. 

Fetid feet, 213. 

Fellows' syrup hypophosphites, 490. 

Felon, bone, 212. 

" flesh, 212. 
Ferrum, 496. 

Female complaints, 403, 496. 
Fevers, 214. 
Fever, bilious remittent, 309. 

" blisters, 296, 356. 

" camp, 224. 

" catarrhal, 283. 

" common continued, 221. 

" gastric, 229. 

" hectic, 321. 

" hospital, 224. 

" idiopathic, 214. 

" intermittent, 304. 

" jail, 224. 

" mountain, 221. 

" malarial, 309. 

" pernicious, 308. 

" pulse in, 215. 

" remedies, list of, 592. 

" remittent, 309. 

" scarlet, 216. 

" ship, 224. 

" slow nervous, 221. 

" specific, 214. 

" spotted, 224. 

" symptomatic, 214. 

" temperature in, 215. 

" typhoid, 221. 

t vpho-iiialarial, 310. 

" typhus, 224. 

" yellow, 225. 
Fire, clothes on, 137. 



648 



INDEX. 



Fish berries, 477. 
Fissure, 332. 
Fistula, 332. 
Fits, 201. 

" remedy for, 627. 
Flatulence, 227, 196. 
Flaxseed, 478. 

" tea, 478. 
" lemonade, 478. 
Fleas, to destroy, 607. 
Flies, to destroy, 608. 
Flesh worms, 409. 
Flowers of sulphur, 566. 
Fomentations, 545. 
Foods, baby, 278. 

" hygiene of, 630. 

" sugar of milk, 566. 
Foot, club, 153. 

Fowler's solution of arsenic, 435. 
Foxglove, 469. 
Frauds, medical, 58. 
Frangula, 448. 
Free prescriptions, 72, 
Freckles, 227. 
Freezing to death, 229. 
Friar's balsam, 440. 
Frostbite, 228. 
Fruits as medicines, 478. 
Formaldehyde-Formalin, 603. 



Gallstones, 155. 

Galloping consumption, 163. 

Gallic acid, 479. 

Galls, 479. 

Gargle, Cohen's, 486. 

Gargles, list of, 588. 

Garlic, 480. 

Gastric catarrh, 192-229. 

" fever, 229. 
Gastritis, 229. 
Gastralgia, 319. 
Gathering in the head, 199. 
Gaultheria, 578. 
General debility, 178. 

" principles, 102. 
Gentian, 480. 

' ' compound pills, 481. 
German corn cure, 174. 
Gin, 424. 
Ginger, 481. 

" tea, 481. 
Glanders, 230. 
Glaucoma, 209. 
Glycerine, 481. 

" suppositories, 567. 
Glycerole of tannin, 482. 



God's remedies, 88. 
Godfrey's cordial, 528. 
Goitre, 231. 

' ' exophthalmic, 231. 
Gold, 482, 
Goldenseal, 483. 
Goldthread, 484. 
Goose grease, 476. 
Gout, 232. 

" retrocedent, 233. 
Grape cure, 468. 
Grape juice, 484. 
Gray powder, 513. 
Gravel, 234. 
Green sickness, 152. 
Grippe, 283. 
Grindelia, 485. 
Guaiac, 486. 
Guarana, 485. 
Gum arabic, 486. 
Gutta percha solution, 463. 



H 

Habitual alcoholism, 235. 
Habit, opium, 323. 
Hair, the, 240. 
" brushes, 242. 
" clipping the, 243. 
" cleansing the, 241. 
" dyeing the, 246. 
" fulling out of the, 242. 
" preparations, list of, 624. 
" removers, 250, 472. 
" tonics, 244. 
" " list of, 624. 

Hamamelis, 579. 
Hands, chapped, 147. 

" remedies for, 626. 
Harelip, 240. 
Hartshorn, 430. 

" liniment, 430. 
Hashish, 487. 
Hay fever, 251. 
Headache, 252. 

bilious, 253. 
" sick, 254. 

" chronic, 256. 

Head, water in the, 269. 
Heartburn, 106. 
Heart diseases, 256. 

dilatation of, 257. 
fatty, 257. 

hypertrophy of, 257. 
irritable, 259. 
neuralgia of, 109. 
palpitation of, 259. 



G49 



Heart, valvular diseases of, 258 . 
Heat stroke, 367. 
Hellebore, 487. 
Hemiplegia, 326. 
Hemp, American, 487. 

" Indian, 487. 
Hemorrhages, 260. 

" of the lungs, 260 

" " nose, 262. 

" " stomach, 262. 

" " mouth, 262. 

Hemorrhoids, 328. 
Henbane, 489. 
Hernia, 263. 

" femoral, 263. 

" ingninal, 263 

" irreducible, 264. 

" strangulated, 264. 

" umbilical, 264. 
Herpes, 355. 
Hiccough, 265. 
Hickory pickory, 428. 
Hiecra picra, 428. 
High cranberry, 442. 
Hip disease, 266. 
Hives, see Nettlerash, 352. 
Hoarseness, 267. 
Hoffman's anodyue, 488. 
Homeopathy, 25. 
Hops, 488. 
Horehound, 488. 
Hookworm disease, 409. 
Hot water, 575. 
Huniulus, 488. 
Hunger, 112. 

Hunyadi janos water, 575. 
Huxham's tincture, 535. 
Hydrangea, 489. 
Hydrastis, 483. 
Hydrastine, 483. 
Hydrate of chloral, 457. 
Hydrocephalus. 269, 187. 
Ifvdrotliorax, 187. 
Hydropathy, 27. 
Hydrophobia, 269, 93. 
Hygiene, 630. 
Hyoecyamus, 489. 
Hydrargyri chloridi mite, 512. 
Hypnol, 433. 
Sypophosphites, 490. 
Hydrogen peroxide, 533. 
Hysteria, 271. 



Ichthyol, 490. 
Ichthyosis. 357. 
Icterus, 292. 



Idiosyncrasy, 283. 
Imaginary diseases, 89. 
Impetigo, 356. 
Incontinence of urine, 400. 
Incurable diseases, 80. 
Indian tobacco, 505. 
" turnip, 570. 
Indigestion, 191, 116. 
Indian poke, 487. 
Inebriety, 235. 
Infancy, diseases of, 274. 
Infantile colic, 278. 
Infant syringes, 492. 
Influenza, 283. 
Ingluvin, 531. 
Ingrowing eyelashes, 210. 
" toe-nails, 287. 
Inhalers, 491. 
Inhalations, 491. 
Injections, rectal, 492. 

" in dysentery, 19. 

Insect powder, 608. 
Insects, to destroy, 605. 
Insomnia, 288. 
Intoxication, 289.'' 
Inula, 471. 
Iodides, 493. 
Iodine, 495. 

" colorless, 495. 
Iodoform, 496 
Iodol, 496. 
Ipecac, 498. 

" syrup, 499. 
Irish moss, 515. 
Iron, 496. 

" bitter wine of, 498. 

" by hydrogen, 497. 

" citrate and quinine, 498. 

" dialyzed, 497. 

" sulphate, 498. 

" syrup of iodide, 495. 

" tincture, 498. 
Irregular practitioners, 19. 
Itch, 358. 

" turpentine in, 571. 

" barbers', 358. 
Itching of skin, 290. 
Ivy poison, 338. 



Jaborandi, 500. 
Jalap, 500. 

" coin pound powder of, 500. 
Jamaica ginger, 481. 
Janeway'a pills, 538. 
Jaundice, 291. 



G50 



Jiggers, to destroy, 609. 
June cold, 251. 
Juniper, 501. 

" berries, 501. 



K 

Kidney, congestion of, 293. 

" cures, 133. 

" diseases, 292. 
Kidneys, inflammation of, 293. 
Kidney, liver leaf, 505. 

' ' remedies, list of, 598. 

" stones, 234. 
King's evil, 346. 
Kino, 454. 
Koumiss, 501. 

" cure, 469. 



Lady Webster's pills, 428. 
La grippe, 283. 
Lanolin, 502. 
Lappa minor, 449. 
Lard, 476. 
Laryngitis, 380, 387. 

" chronic, 388. 

Laudanum, 526. 

" deodorized, 526. 

Lavements, 492. 
Lavender, 502. 

" water, 502. 
Laxative mineral waters, 576. 
Laxatives, list of, 583. 
Lead, sugar of, 502. 

" water, 503. 

' ' and laudanum, 523, 503. 

" cobic, 294. 

" poisoning, 294. 
Leeches, 443. 
Lemonade, flaxseed, 478. 
Lepra, 357. 
Leptandra, 467. 
Leptandrin, 467. 
Lice, to destroy, 609. 
Lichen, 352. 
Licorice, 503. 

" compound powder, 464. 
Lids, granular, 206. 
Lignum vita?, 486. 
Lime, chloride of, 504. 

" water, 504. 

" " and sweet oil, 505. 
Liniment, menthol, 531. 
Liniments, list of, 592. 
Linseed oil, 524. 



Lip salve, 628. 
Lips, sore, 295. 
Liquid, pepsin, 532. 
Liquor, potassa, 542. 
Lithiasis, 234. 
Lithia bromide, 446. 
Lithotomy, 121. 
Liver complaint, 391. 

" leaf, 505. 

" spots, 296. 

" torpid, 391. 
Liverwort, 505. 
Lobelia, 505. 
Lock-jaw, 297. 
Logwood, 454. 
London purple, 435. 
Locomotor ataxy, 299. 
Looseness of the bowels, 182. 
Loss of voice, 380. 
Lovage root, 506. 
Lozenges, Brown mixture, 528. 
Lunar caustic, 560. 
Lumbago, 300, 342. 
Lungs, inflammation of, 336. 
Lvcopodium, 506. 
Lyssa falsa, 270. 
Lysol, 605. 

M 

Magnesia, 506. 

" calcined, 506. 

" granular, 507. 

" mixture, 628. 

' ' solution, citrate of, 507. 
Magnetism, 474. 
Magnolia balm, 623. 
Malaria, 301. 
Malaria cachexia, 301. 
Male fern, 507. 
Malt, 508. 
Mandrake, 508. 
Manganese, 509. 
Mania-a-potu, 179. 
Manna, 510. 
Marasmus, 311. 
Marrubinm, 488. 
Marshmallow, 510. 
Matico, 510. 
May apple, 508. 
McMunn's elixir, 526. 
Meadow saffron. 462. 
Measles, 312. 

fire, 313. 
" German, 313. 
Meat extracts, 510. 
Medical frauds, 58. 
Medicine, doses of, 416. 



651 



Medicine, good effects of, 39. 

1 ' science of, 17. 

" taking too much, 75. 

" unnecessary, 80. 

" measures, 415. 
Medicines, taking care of, 413. 

" using in home, 413. 

Memory, failure of, 129. 
Meningitis, 126. 
Menthol, 530. 

" liniment, 531. 
Mercury, preparations of, 512. 

" red iodide, 512. 

" -with chalk, 513. 
Miasm, 301. 
Milk crust, 354, 353. 
" cure, 469. 
" peptonized, 533. 
Mind, impaired, 129. 
Mineral waters, 575. 
Monkshood, 422. 
Morphia, 528. 

Mosquitoes, to destroy, 611. 
Moss, Iceland, 515. 

" Irish, 515. 
Moths, to destroy, 611. 
Mouth hreathing, 315. 

" washes, 130, 376. 
Mountain fever, 221. 
Mucilage, gum arabic, 487. 
Mucilages, list of, 628. 
Mullein, 515. 

" oil of, 516. 
Mumps, 316. 

Muriate of ammonia, 432. 
Mustard, 516. 

" leaves, 516. 

" plasters, 516. 
Myrrh, 517. 



N 
Nails, ingrowing, 287. 
Nail polish, 623. 
Naphtha, 423, 
Nasal catarrh, 142. 

" douche, 131, 146. 
Near-sigh tod ncss, 209. 
Nettle rash, :;:,:>. 

Nervous attacks, 319. 
Neurasthenia, 317. 
Nervousness, 317. 
Neuralgia, 319. 
Nightmare, 321. 
Nightsweats, 321, 171. 
Nitre, 567. 
Nitrite of amyl, 517. 



Nitro-glycerine, 518. 
Noises in the ear, 200. 
Nose, washes and sprays for, 
Nut galls, 479. 
Nux vomica, 518. 
Nose bleed, 262. 



Oak bark, 454. 
Obesity, 323. 
Oculists, 35. 
Odontalgia, 389. 
(Edema, 187. 
Oil, bitter almond, 421. 

" castor, 522, 584. 

" coco-nut, 524. 

" cottonseed, 524. 

" croton, 523. 

" linseed, 524. 

" morrhua?, 519. 

" mustard, 517. 

" olive, 524. 

" sweet, 524. 

" turpentine, 571. 

" vitriol, 420. 
Ointments, list of, 594. 
Olive oil, 524. 
Opium, 525. 

" habit, 323. 
" " cures, 326. 

' ' tincture of, 526. 
Opisthotonos, 298. 
Ophthalmia, 206. 
Otalgia, 198. 
Otorrhcea, 199. 
Ozama, 326. 



Pads, liver and stomach, 529. 
Pain, as a symptom, 102. 

" in dyspepsia, 196. 
Palmar abscess, 212. 
Palpitation, 259. 
Palsy, 326. 

" cerebral, 326. 

" diphtheritic, 326. 

" facial, 326. 

" hysterical, 326. 

" of the insane, 326. 

" lead, 326. 

" shaking, 326. 

" spinal, 326. 

" wasting, 326. 

" writers', 326. 
Pancreatin, 531. 
Papular skin diseases, 352. 



652 



Paralysis, 326. 

" infantile, 326. 
Paraplegia, 326. 
Parasitic skin diseases, 358. 
Paresis, 326. 
Paregoric, 527. 
Paris green, 435. 
Parotitis, 316. 
Part I, 15. 

" II, 99. 

" III, 411. 

" IV, 581. 
Patent medicines, 50. 
Pathies, 21. 
Paul lima, 485. 
Pearlash, 540. 
Peppermint, 530. 
Pepsin, 531. 
Peptonized milk, 533. 
beef, 511. 
Pepo, 546. 
Pericarditis, 258. 
Peroxide of hydrogen, 533. 
Pellagra, 327. 
Pertussis, 401. 
Peruvian bark, 534. 
Petrolatum, 537. 
Pharyngitis, 380. 

" chronic, 382. 

Phenacetin, 433. 
Phosphate of soda, 562. 
Phosphites and hypophosphites, 563. 
Phthisis, 162. 
Picrotoxin, 477. 
Piles, 328. 
Pills, cathartic, 537. 
Pilocarpine, 500. 
Pimples, 352. 
Pink root, 538. 

' ' and senna fluid extract, 560. 
Pin worms, 407. 
Pipsissewa, 538. 
Pityriasis, 245. 
Plain soda water, 576. 
Plasters, 539 

" list of, 599. 
Plumbi acetas, 502. 
Pleurisy, 334. 

" chronic, 336. 
" root, 539. 
Pleuropneumonia, 336. 
Plethora, 123. 
Pleurothotonos, 298. 
Pneumonia, 336. 

typhoid, 338. 
Podophyllin, 508. 
Poisons," 612. 



Poisoning by acids, 613. 
" " aconite, 614. 

" alcohol, 614. 
" " ammonia, 614. 

" " antimony, 621. 

" " arsenic, 615. 

" " belladonna, 615. 

" " carbolic acid, 616. 

" chloral, 616. 
" " copper, 616. 

" " corrosive sublimate, 617. 

" " creasote, 616. 

" " cyanide of potash, 620. 

" " foxglove, 617. 

" " jimsonweed, 620. 

" " laudanum, 618. 

" " lead, 618, 

" " lunar caustic, 618. 

" " morphia, 618. 

" " nux vomica "?0. 

" " opium, 618. 

" " oxalic acid, 618. 

" " phosphorus, 620. 

" " prussic acid, 620. 

" " strychnia, 620. 

" " tartar emetic, 621. 

" " tobacco, 621 

" " zinc, 622. 

Poison ivy, 338. 
oak, 338. 
Poke root, 540. 
Pomades, 249. 
Pond's extract, 579. 
Progress in medicine, 95. 
Porter, 424. 
! Porous plasters, 539. 

list of, 599. 
Potash, acetate, 540. 
bromide, 446. 
•' carbonate, 540. 
" bicarbonate, 540. 

chlorate, 541. 
" citrate, 541. 
iodide, 493. 
'• nitrate, 556. 
" permanganate, 542. 
Poultices, 542. 

" bran, 544. 

" bread, 544. 

" bread and milk, 544. 

" charcoal, 544. 

" elm, 544. 

" flaxseed, 543. 

" mush, 543. 

" mustard, 544, 516. 

" onion, 544. 

Poverty of the blood, 107. 



653 



Prescriptions, 545. 
Prickly ash, 546. 

" heat, 352. 
Privies, to disinfect, 603. 
Prince's pine, 538. 
Prolapsus, 333. 
Psoriasis, 357. 
Pumpkin seed, 546. 
Pulsatilla, 546. 
Pulse, as a symptom, 103. 

" in fever, 215. 
Pure Food and Drug Laws, 
Purple boneset, 547. 
Pustular skin diseases, 356. 
Putrid sore throat, 184. 



Quack doctors, 68. 
Quassia, 547. 
Queen's delight, 547. 
Queen of the meadow, 547. 
Queen's root, 547. 
Quicksilver, 512. 
Quiuine, 535. 
Quinsy, 383. 



Rabies, 269. 
Raspberry, 548. 
Rashes, 351. 
Rattlesnake oil, 477. 
Red gum, 353. 

" pepper, 454. 
Red root, 444. 
Regular practitioners, 19. 
Remittent fever, 309. 
Rest, 548. 

Retention of urine, 365. 
Rhamnus, 453. 
Rhatany, 454. 
Rheumatic gout, 232. 
Rheumatism, acute, 341. 

" chronic, 342. 

Rhubarb, 550. 
Rhus toxicodendron, 338. 
Rice-water discharges, 150. 
Rickets, 340. 
Ringworm, 359. 

to remove, 341. 
Room, to disinfect a, 603. 
Rose, 204. 

" cold, 251. 
Rose water and glycerine, 482. 
Roseola, 352. 
Rouud worms, 406. 



Rubeola, 312. 
Rubus, 548. 
Rum, 424. 
Rumex, 579. 
Rupture, 263. 



Saccharin, 551. 

" solution, 182. 

Saffron, 552. 
Sage, 552. 
Salicin, 553. 
Salicylic acid, 552. 
Sal-ammoniac, 432. 
Salisbury treatment, 575. 
Sal-nitre, 556. 
Salol, 553. 
Salt rheum, 353. 
Salts, crab-orchard, 554. 

" Epsom, 554. 

" glauber, 555. 

" Rochelle, 555. 
Saltpetre, 556. 
Salts of tartar, 540. 
Salves, list of, 594. 
Salvia, 552. 
Sanguinaria, 444. 
Santonin, 553. 
Saratoga water, 576. 
Sarsaparilla, 557.J 
Sassafras, 558. 

" pith, 558. 
Scalds, 137. 
Scald-head, 355. 
Scalp, cleansing the, 241. 
Scarlet fever, 216. 

" " preventives, 220, 

Scarlatina, 216. 
Scabies, 358. 
Scabwort, 471. 
Scaly skin diseases, 357. 
Scalp, cleaning the, 241. 
Sciatica, 345, 319. 
Science of medicine, 17. 
Schools of " 21. 

Sclerosis, 129. 
Scorbutus, 348. 
Scrofula, 346. 
Bcullcap, 559. 
Scurvy, 348. 
Sea sickness, 348. 
Seal worms, 407. 
Sclionlid-a, 245. 
Bet 'it medicines, 50. 
Seidlitz powders, 556. 
Senega, .",5:1. 



654 



Seneka, 559. 
Senna, 559. 
Serpentaria, 56C. 
Seven barks, 489. 
Shampoo, 624. 
Shingles, 355. 
Shock, 349. 

Sick-room, in the, 637. 
Silver nitrate, 560. 
Simaruba, 547. 
Skin diseases, 350. 

" in disease, 104. 
Skunk oil, 477. 
Sleeplessness, 288. 
Slippery elm, 475. 
Small-pox, 360. 
Smelling salts, 623. 
Snakehead, 437. 
Snuffs, catarrh, 147. 
Soap bark, 561. 
Soda, bicarbonate, 561. 

" bromide, 446. 

" iodide, 493. 

" mint, 562. 

" powders, 562. 

" tablets, 562. 

" phosphate, 562. 
Somnambulism, 398. 
Sores, old, 364. 
Sore leg, 364. 

" lips, 295. 

" mouth, 282. 

" throat, 380. 

" " chronic, 382. 

" " diphtheria, 184. 
Solution acetate ammonia, 564. 
Spanish flies, 563. 
Spasms, 362. 
Spearmint, 564. 
Specialists, 35. 
Spigelia, 538. 
Spikenard, 564. 
Spinal cord, diseases of, 126. 
Spitting of blood, 260. 
Spirits ruiudererns, 564. 
Spleen, enlargement of, 307, 
Sprains, 363. 
Sprays, nose and throat, 589. 

" list of, 589. 
Squanise, 357. 
Squint, 209. 
Squill, 565. 
Star grass, 574. 
Stillingia, 547. 
SKmulants. alcoholic, 424. 
Stomach, catarrh of. 192 
" hemorrhage of, 262. 



Stomach, inflammation of, 229, 192. 

" ulcer of, 192. 

Stone in the bladder, 120. 
Strangury, 365. 
Strabismus, 209. 
Strychnine, 518. 
St, Anthony's fire, 204. 
St. Vitus's dance, 365. 
Stupes, turpentine, 571. 
Stupor, 179. 
Stye, 208. 
Suet, 476. 
Sugar of lead, 502. 

" " milk, 565. 
Sulphur, 566. Sulphur candles, 603. 
Sulphurous mineral waters, 576. 
Summer catarrh, 251. 

" complaint, 280. 
Sun fever, 368. 
Sunstroke, 367. 
Suppositories, 567. 
Surgery, 35. 

Swallowing coins etc., 368. 
Sweating, excessive, 368. 
Sweaty feet, 213. 
Sweetening tea and coffee, 182. 
Sweet oil, 524. 
Sweet spirits of nitre, 567. 
Swooning, 210. 
Symphytum, 464. 
Syncope, 210. 
Syphilis, 396. 
Syringes, 492. 

" hypodermic, 568. 
'• infants'. 492. 
Syrup, iodide of iron, 495. 

" hydriodic acid, 494. 

" of rhubarb aromatic, 551. 

" white pine compound, 508. 



Taking too much medicine, 75. 
Tasteless castor oil. . r >L':'>. 

" cod liver oii, 521. 
Tannic acid, 479. 
Tannin, 479. 
Tape-worm, 408. 
Tar, 568. 
Taraxacum, 467. 
Tartar on the teeth, 376. 
Tartar emetic, 569. 
Tea, flaxseed, 478. 
Teeth, the, 370. 

" decaved, 372. 
Teething, 281. 
Terpin hydrate, 570. 



INDEX. 



655 



Terebene, 570. 
Temperature of body, 104. 
il in fever, 215. 

Tetanus, 297. 
Tetter, 356. 

The Doctor's Story, 86. 
Thread worms, 407. 
Throat, diseases of, 380. 
Thoroughwort, 445. 
Thrush, 282. 
Thymol, 570. 
Tic douloureux, 319 
Tinea, capitis, 355 
Tiucture of iron, 4y». 
Tincture of opium, 526. 
Toilet articles, 622. 
Tola, 572. 

Tongue, condition of, 105. 
Tongue-tie, 390. 
Tonics, 572. 

" list of, 597. 
Tonsils, enlarged, 385. 
Tonsilitis, 383. 
Toothache, 389. 
Tooth powders, 376. 
Tooth rash, 353. 
Torpid liver, 391. 
Tracheotomy, 177. 
Trichina, 409. 
Trifolium, 460. 
Trumpet weed, 547. 
Tuberculosis, 162. 
Tubercular meningitis, 314. 
Turlington's balsam, 440. 
Turnip, wild, 570. 
Turpentine, 571. 
Turpetli mineral, 513. 
Typhoid fever, 221. 
Typhoid condition, 221. 
Typhus fever, 224. 



u 



Ulcers, 364. 

Ulcer of stomach, 192. 

Underwood Spring mineral water, 576. 

i Intermented wine, 484. 

Unicorn root, 574. 

Unnecessary medicine, 80. 

Urinary calculi, 120 

i rrine incontinence, 400. 

" retention, '■'<<'>'>. 
Urticaria, 352. 
Ova ursi, 574. 
Uvula elongated, 386. 



Vaccination, 392. 

Valerian, 572. 

Vallet's mass, 498. 

Varicella, 148. 

Variola. 360. 

Varioloid, 361. 

Vaseline, 537. 

Vegetable cathartic pills, 538. 

Veins, varicose, 394. 

Venereal diseases, 396 

Ventilation, 632. 

Veratrum, 487. 

Verbascum, 515 

Verdigris, 465. 

Verrucas, 399. 

Viburnum, 442. 

Vichy mineral water, 576. 

Vinegar, 573. 

Virginia snake-root, 560. 

Vision, impaired, 209. 

Vomiting, 397. 

" in dyspepsia, 196. 

Vomit, black, 226. 

w 

Wahoo, 574. 
Wakefulness, 288. 
Walking in the sleep, 398. 
Warts, 399. 

Washes for sore tbroat, 589. 
Water in the head, 269. 
Watermelon juice, 577. 
" seed, 576. 

Waters, mineral, 575. 
Wax in the ears, 201-628. 
"Weak spot," 154. 
Wetting the bed, 400. 
Whiskey, 424. 
White root, 539. 

" lead, 503. 
Whooping cough, 401. 
Wild cherry, 578. 

" turnip, 570. 
Wintergreen, 578. 
Wind in the stomach, 227. 
Wine, 124. 

" of antimony. 569. 
Witch hazel, 579. 
Wolfsbane, 422. 
Women, diseases of, 403. 
Woody nightshade, 441. 
Worms, inc. 
" pin, 407. 
" round, loo. 



GoG 



INDEX. 



Worms, tape, 408. 

" thread, 407. 

' ' medicines, list of, 599. 

" oil, 476. 
Wormseed, 577. 
Wormwood, 577. 
Worthy medical practice, 38. 
Wounds, 409. 
Wrist, bursa ou the, 138. 
Wry neck, 342. 



Xanthoxylon, 546. 



Yellow dock, 579. 
" fever, 225. 
Yellow sulphate mercury, 51c 
Yerba Santa, 579 



Zinc, 580. 
" ointment, 580. 
" valerianate, 5W 



I 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS # 

022 190 104 6 



